Sky Stories 01: I Will Be Your Wings
by Higuchimon
Summary: Juudai wants wings. He wants them more than almost anything. But those who are Flightless have no wings and never will. He also would like a friend. That's a little more likely. There's still that little issue of the Light of Ruin and those who serve it, too.
1. Chapter 1

**Series:** Sky Stories|| **Title:** I Will Be Your Wings  
 **Characters:** Yubel, Juudai, OCs|| **Romance:** Yubel x Juudai  
 **Word Count:** 2,459/32,011|| **Chapters:** 1/13  
 **Genre:** Romance, Drama|| **Rated:** PG  
 **Challenges:** Diversity Writing: YGO GX: Sky Stories: J04, 7-15 chapters; And the dice will again decide our fate…: 13 chapters/2,446 wpc; One Ship Boot Camp; #21, elite; Chapter Set Boot Camp, #44, 13 chapters; Include The Word Boot Camp, #40, hope; Novella Masterclass, #4, AU Space  
 **Notes:** This is an AU where the vast majority of the population develop wings at some point in their lives. Juudai is not one of those people. This also takes place in Juudai and Yubel's past life and is how they met in that universe.  
 **Summary:** Juudai wants wings. He wants them more than almost anything. But those who are Flightless have no wings and never will. He also would like a friend. That's a little more likely. There's still that little issue of the Light of Ruin and those who serve it, too.

* * *

"When do I get my wings?"

King Aodh and Queen Kaien exchanged looks. They'd expected this question. Every parent in their particular situation expected it sooner or later. And yet it always managed to somehow come as a surprise.

"Juudai," Queen Kaien said, reaching down to pick him up. "Why are you asking?" She knew. She already knew. She'd asked the same question when she was his age, only a different answer had come for her.

He stared at her, large brown eyes full of curiosity and hope. "Because I _want_ my wings!"

Aodh held back a sigh. "Juudai, I'm sorry." He didn't want to tell him this. Few parents did. But there wasn't any way around it. "You won't have wings."

Juudai stared at him, then swung his head around to stare up at his mother, his eyes getting larger and more confused by the moment. "Why not?"

"Because you weren't born with the marks." Kaien rested her hand on his shoulders. "Only those who are born with the marks develop wings."

Juudai blinked in raw confusion before he reached behind his back to rub his fingers on his shoulders. "Marks?"

Kaien nodded. "Everyone who is born with those grows wings when they're older. Those who don't, don't."

Juudai's fingers brushed as close to his shoulder-blades as he could get them to go. "Why don't I have them? You both have wings! Everyone around here has wings!"

That wasn't entirely true; there were a few people on the palace staff who didn't have any. Though as a general rule, those who were human-shaped did tend to them. Those who weren't didn't always. But Aodh and Kaien could both see where he was coming from.

"You were just born like that. It happens. It's nothing to be ashamed of," Aodh said, touching his son's chin lightly. "It might help you one day, too."

Juudai didn't even tilt his head at that, still straining for his shoulder-blades, face twisted up into the most unusual configuration Aodh had ever seen.

"Juudai, what are you trying to do?"

"I want wings!" Juudai declared, eyes bright. Aodh hoped those weren't tears he saw. "I'm _Haou_ , aren't I? I should be able to have wings!"

Kaien tried her best to soothe him. "It doesn't work like that, Juudai. Your power will be to create and to protect. Not to sprout wings."

"Then why can't I create wings?" Juudai shot back. Aodh stifled a small chuckle. He could see the logic, such as it was.

"Keep trying," he advised. "Maybe you will be able to one day."

He didn't believe it; nor did Kaien. The look in her eyes as she met his gaze said everything. But it was either offer a slender thread of hope or have to deal with Juudai bawling until he could bawl no more. Neither of them wanted the latter, even though both suspected that they would have to deal with it sooner or later. Especially as time passed and no matter how hard he tried, Juudai would certainly not be able to manifest wings.

* * *

Juudai slumped down on the bed, burying his face in his pillows. They were soft. So were the blankets bunched to one side and the sheets underneath him.

He didn't care. He didn't care about the soft bed or the delicious dinner he'd just had or the offer that his parents made to take him flying before the sun drew too far down.

 _I don't want to fly with them. I want to fly with me!_

It wasn't fair! It wasn't fair _at all_ that almost everyone else got to fly and the only way that he could do it would be if someone carried him.

Juudai wanted wings more than he'd ever wanted anything else in his entire life. He could hardly breathe for the thought of being able to spread wings he would never have and take off into the skies that he could only stare at longingly.

 _Why me? Why not me?_ He was Haou. He'd been told for as long as he could remember that he would one day be able to control the power that brought life into the universe. So why didn't he have wings? Wasn't he supposed to be able to protect everyone? How could he do that if that one little gift that almost everyone else had was one that he didn't?

Juudai refused to think that the burning in his eyes came from tears. He shouldn't cry about it. He didn't want to. He was only eight; maybe the wings would show up later? What if he were different and the marks didn't appear _because_ he was Haou?

He wanted to believe that. He wanted to convince himself of it so hard that he thought that he had.

Only it was harder and harder with each day, when there wasn't a single sign of feathers or scales or anything else. The few kids he knew around here were already developing stronger shoulders and little bumps where their marks rested. They would have wings one day. Their parents strutted around looking so proud of them.

 _Why are they so happy? Wings aren't that special._

But he wanted them. That would make his wings special.

Juudai closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around one of his pillows. In the time since he'd asked his parents about his wings, he spent hours a day trying to find the power of life inside of himself and bring it out so he could make wings.

Only it never worked. Nothing at all happened. He didn't even get a wiggle out of his shoulders, much less anything else.

His eyes burned a little more and he wiped at them absently. Not tears. Not at all. His eyes were just leaking because he'd put so much effort into things.

He would have to grow up, he decided. Once he grew up, _then_ he could find a way to create his own wings. That would make it good for everyone, too. He would make wings for people who didn't have wings and for people who lost their wings.

How did wings work in the first place? Juudai knew that he didn't really have a clue. He saw people spread theirs and take off and that was all there was to it but if he made wings, would they work the same? Could he even make wings and if he could, how would he do it? What could he make them from? Did wings have to be light to fly or heavy to carry people?

He wanted his own wings just so he didn't have to think about all of these things.

Juudai slowly let himself relax. He would have wings one day. It didn't matter how he had them, as long as he had them. He would make sure that everyone else who didn't have them would have them too. Everyone should be able to fly.

* * *

Creating wings wasn't nearly as easy as he'd hoped it might be. The thought of weight alone still bothered him. Wood? Metal? A bunch of feathers tied together? What would make the best wings?

He'd seen people who had metallic wings and they flew as easily as anyone who had leather wings or fairy wings or feathered wings.

 _How do they do it?_ Juudai ached to touch wings and learn what he could.

"Can I touch your wings?" He stared at the maid who came to clean his room, who had a small set of fairy wings folded onto her back. He'd seen her fly; as small as they were they could carry he just like anyone else's did.

She stared back at him, as if no one had ever asked her that in all of her life. He didn't know why. They were pretty wings; surely someone would want to touch them. She was married, wasn't she? Wouldn't her mate touch them?

"Your Highness, you shouldn't ask that," she said at last, a faint heat on her cheeks. "It isn't proper."

Juudai tilted his head. "Why not?"

Her fingers closed harder around the broom in one hand. "That's for your parents to explain to you. Please don't ask me again. Or anyone else."

She started to sweep fiercely and no matter what he said, she refused to so much as look at him. She didn't even turn her back on him the whole time, no matter how she had to twist to do her chores then.

Juudai stared for a few minutes before he hurried out, determine to get his answers. His parents didn't lie to him so they would tell him what was going on.

"Why can't I touch someone else's wings?" Juudai demanded the moment he entered their room. Aodh and Kaien exchanged a look. He'd seen that happen between them many times, usually when he'd asked a question of some sort. He didn't know why they seemed so confused by what he wanted to know.

Juudai knew he didn't understand a lot of things but they were adults. Why didn't they already know the things that he didn't?

"Wings are sensitive," Kaien said as he came closer, holding her arms out for him. Juudai snuggled in there right away. He loved how being enfolded in her arms and in her wings. "Not everyone wants them to be touched, not even by someone they're close to."

"Why not?"

Aodh reached over to ruffle his fingers through Juudai's hair. "There are a lot of reasons. Sometimes being touched can hurt someone's wings, even if the person touching doesn't mean to. Sometimes, it's just not something they like. Not everyone likes to be touched, whether it's on their wings or not."

Juudai frowned, trying to work his way through that. He couldn't quite figure out how that worked, but if his father said so, he was willing to accept it as true. He raised one hand, starting to reach towards his mother's, then stopped himself, staring up at her.

"Can I touch _your_ wings?" She'd always let him before. But was it going to be different now?

Kaien smiled at him. "Go ahead. Just remember."

He nodded at once. She'd told him that ever since he could remember. "Always be careful." Was that what she'd meant? That it could hurt her if he wasn't careful?

He set a hand on the wing closest to him. Her feathers were warm and soft and a rich shade of chestnut red, much like her hair. Her wings closed closer about him and he sighed happily. Being in here, held like this, was one of his earliest memories, and his favorite one.

Juudai tilted his head against her wings and breathed in the scent of her feathers. There was another scent there, one that he recognized as his father's, and then another set of wings folded around outside. He'd never felt so safe or so comfortable in all of his life.

"I want wings," he murmured. "I want everyone to have wings."

"Everyone isn't born with wings," Aodh said softly, his voice only barely audible through two sets of wings and two arms. "That's the way that it is. Everyone does have their own benefit in the world, something that they can do. But not everyone has wings."

"Why _not_?" Juudai demanded. "It's not _fair_!"

His parents remained silent for a few moments. Juudai didn't look up, but he felt if he did, they would have been exchanging more of those looks that he didn't fully understand. Then Kaien spoke.

"Why isn't it fair?"

Juudai blinked. Shouldn't that be obvious? "Because everyone should have wings."

"Would you think that if you had wings?" Aodh asked, his voice gentle. Juudai started to nod; of course he would!

"You want them now because you don't have them. But if you did have them, would it have ever occurred to you?" Kaien asked, just as gentle as her husband.

Again Juudai started to nod. Of course he would! Why wouldn't he?

But while he couldn't see their looks, he could still feel the way they held him and the way that they expected an answer. The answer they expected wasn't the one that he wanted to say.

Juudai bit his lip. The more that he stayed quiet, the more he wondered what the right answer would be anyway.

"It's a good idea, trying to help people who can't fly or don't have wings," Aodh said. "You don't have to give it up."

Juudai tightened into them. He wasn't sure of what they meant and he didn't know what he should say about it.

"I think he should meet a few other people who don't have wings," Kaien said after a long span of silence. "See what they can tell him."

Aodh nodded. Juudai could feel the movement ever so faintly. "It shouldn't take long to find a few."

Juudai could feel weariness tugging at him. It wasn't very late but he'd been thinking hard about wings and what to do about them and then everything to do with the servant and now sitting like this with his parents – it all took a toll on him. He breathed quietly and closed his eyes. The idea of meeting other people who had no wings appealed to him, but not now.

* * *

Aodh smiled a trifle weakly at his wife. They could feel Juudai going limp in between them. When both moved their wings back, he slumped there, already asleep.

"Do you really think that will help?" Aodh wondered, pitching his voice low in hopes Juudai wouldn't be disturbed.

"I don't think it can hurt." Kaien leaned her head back in thought. "Do you want to put him to bed?"

Aodh gently scooped their son up and tucked him over his shoulder. "He's a handful, isn't he?"

"What did you expect? He's life and justice incarnate." Kaien smiled a touch of a weary smile. "This is only the beginning."

Aodh couldn't argue against that. All that either of them could do was hope that he learned how to use his powers properly, before the Light of Ruin came calling.

 _We should find a way to deal with that. It will be years before he properly comes into his powers and the Light could strike long before then. It won't be polite and wait for him to mature._

He would consider the matter. A bodyguard of some sort came to mind. A very special one.

He would talk it over with Kaien later. Once they'd settled this matter with Juudai and wings and fairness in general. There would be time. It was their task to protect Juudai for now. Not yet time to pass it to someone else.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I said I had other stories in this world. This is only one of them. Because I wrote this for the Yu-Gi-Oh Big Bang, it's not only a complete story, but it's going to be updated every day until it's finished.


	2. Chapter 2

**Words:** 4,954/32,011|| **Chapters:** 2/13

* * *

Juudai wanted to go out and do something. Anything. He wasn't all that particular, as long as whatever he did didn't involve being in this receiving room, wearing one of his fancier outfits, and being introduced to the half dozen Flightless that lived in the palace.

Flightless. No one had used the word around him before, but ever since his parents promised to introduce him to others who didn't have wings, it cropped up more and more. Those who didn't have wings and would never have them.

At least they wouldn't if he couldn't figure out how to make it happen. Juudai hadn't given up that thought, no matter how 'nice' it was to meet others who wouldn't fly.

"Greetings, Your Highness." One of the nobles approached Juudai, their offspring in tow. They had a fine set of wings themselves, arching dragon wings, with gleaming silver-green scales to match their green hair. "I would like to introduce you to my offspring, Eirian."

Juudai blinked at them. Eirian stood a fraction shorter than the noble, with smooth dark red hair cut in a style neither male nor female, with dark green eyes that rested on Juudai thoughtfully. Like him, there wasn't even a hint of wings.

"A pleasure to meet you, Your Highness," Eirian said, voice not giving a single hint as to male or female. Juudai blinked again. He'd never met anyone like _this_ before and the question was out of his mouth before he could change his mind.

"Are you a boy or a girl?"

The noble tensed and Juudai could all but see his parents wincing and his mother reached out for him… but Eirian only shook his – her? Head. There was a smile, so Juudai didn't think that he'd done anything _wrong_. Besides, he'd only asked a question. How could that be wrong?

"I'm not either one of those, Highness. Should I have to be?"

Juudai scratched his head and shrugged. "I've never met anyone who wasn't one or the other." But then, he'd never thought there were those who'd never grown wings until his parents told him. Maybe this was something like that?

"Now you have. There are always exceptions to everything." Eirian told him. "I hear that you want to make wings for people who don't have them?"

Juudai lit up at that. "I do! Everyone should have wings!"

"What about people who don't want them?" Eirian tilted their head – Juudai decided he was going to use 'they' until someone told him it was wrong. "There are some of us Flightless who are fine without wings."

Juudai wasn't sure if he could get his head around _that_. "But you can't fly… I can't fly."

"I know. But there are other ways to make things happen, and flying isn't the most wonderful thing in the world."

"It is too!" Juudai shot back. "I love flying with Mother and Father!"

Eirian tilted their head again, this time the other way. "Do you? Or do you love _being_ with them, no matter what you're doing?"

Juudai started to open his mouth and then stopped it again. He did love being with his parents no matter what they did, even if they weren't flying. Sitting beside the fire in their quarters, sometimes going for little walks in the gardens – the gardens that didn't grow in the skies but on the ground…

He'd gone swimming before. His parents hadn't gone in the water with him; water and feathers didn't mix very well. But they'd enjoyed watching while he'd gone underwater and come back up again.

 _Could I do that if I had wings?_ He wasn't sure if he wanted to give up swimming.

"Do you know what might be a good idea?" Eirian asked. Juudai stared at them, far more confused than he'd been even when he found out he wouldn't have wings.

"What?"

"Finding a way to help those who _do_ want to fly. Or those who could and can't now. Finding out what you can do to help people."

Oh. Juudai tried not to visibly droop. He'd heard this before from his parents. It was always 'find out what you can do and do that', not 'try to do the impossible'. Maybe it was just impossible because no one had done it _yet_!

"Maybe," he said, getting the feeling that they expected him to say something. "Thank you."

He was _so_ bored. Meeting all of these people sounded exciting the first time Mother and Father mentioned it to him. Meeting others like him, who would surely want to fly as much as he did, who'd probably been looked down on, and he wanted to help them, to find a way for them to fly too, and none of them… none of them had shown any real sign of wanting wings.

There were five others there, two boys and three girls. All of them were different in little ways. Aras looked forward to marrying into a noble family that hadn't had a Flightless in _centuries_. That way, his offspring would surely have the wings that he didn't. Two of the girls weren't interested in marriage at all, but for different reasons. Sarnai intended to enter temple service, one of those temples where all the priests and priestesses remained unmarried and without lovers. Parisa, on the other hand, found herself far more interested in her studies and a future as a craftswoman to find a mate of her own.

The third girl, Kalea, expressed an interest in military service, while the second boy, Ilan, wanted to learn magic. At least _that_ was interesting enough to Juudai; if he couldn't make wings for everyone, weren't there spells that could help?

"There are some," the would-be mage apprentice told him when Juudai asked about that. "I know one or two that can make someone fly for a little while. But those always end."

Juudai grumbled under his breath, tapping his fingers a little. "Why?"

"There are some spells that last forever," the other said thoughtfully, "but those are so rare that I don't know of them. Great wizards and sages might, though."

Juudai nodded at that and made up his mind on something: if he couldn't make wings for everyone, wings that worked, and he still hadn't made up his mind that he _couldn't_ just yet, then he would use magic to do it. There had to be a way for it. Just because he didn't know the way didn't mean there wasn't a way.

He wasn't sure of how long they stayed there. But he at least tried to talk to everyone and find out about them. His parents wanted him to know these people. And the longer he talked to them, the more he found out that he wanted to know them to.

They weren't bad people at all. They'd mostly given up or accepted that they'd never fly, so that was it.

 _I'll never be like that,_ Juudai promised himself. He wouldn't give up on his goals. There would be a day when he could fly, no matter what.

* * *

Aodh relaxed in Kaien's arms and let out a long sigh. "That could have gone better?"

"It could have gone worse," Kaien corrected him, the trailing edge of one wing caressing down his side. "He at least knows that he can have an ordinary life whether or not he can fly."

Aodh nodded, though he still wasn't entirely certain everything had gone as well as Kaien thought it had. Juudai didn't seem to have let go of his insistence that he would fly for so much as a moment.

"What next?" He asked, though he didn't think there would be an answer. Only time could teach Juudai anything that they couldn't, at least where the topic of wings and flight were concerned.

"That, I don't know." Kaien closed her eyes and rested her head on his. Her lips moved faintly against his skin. "I almost wonder if we should try to find him a mage-teacher. If he can learn spells for flight, it might help. At least for a little while."

Aodh considered that. There hadn't been a Flightless in his family line, or Kaien's, for so long that he didn't think any of them knew how to raise one. Completely new territory here.

"Who would make a good teacher?" Aodh asked after a few silent moments. "Are there any Flightless who could do it?"

"There aren't any in the city," Kaien replied at once. He suspected that she'd already checked into this. "There are a few winged mages, but no Flightless ones."

He'd hoped for those few seconds that a Flightless teacher would be able to help Juudai in a different way, telling him in a way he'd believe that it was too difficult, or possibly even _how_ it was done. Something to settle the question once and for all.

But perhaps a flighted one could do the same thing. If Juudai would be willing to listen to one.

"Let's check with them. Maybe one is willing to teach."

Given how stubborn Juudai could be, he wasn't all that certain that his son would be willing to learn.

* * *

The knock came quick at her door. She looked up from her book, curious as to who would want to call, especially at such an early hour. There were few who had need for he services, after all.

But there wasn't any need to turn away customers, not with how rare they were. She raised one finger and a gust of wind opened the door, revealing a well dressed servant of some sort.

A _royal_ servant, she realized. Someone whose pay outranked her own so much that they could likely replace their uniform if it were dirtied without recourse to washing it. And from the way they held themselves up and looked around her narrow space, they probably wanted to do just that.

"You are the one they call Siren?" The servant asked, one eyebrow cocked.

"Yes. What of it?" The tips of her wings twitched a fraction at that. She tried to ignore the pain that shot through her at that. This was more important. Maybe.

"You are summoned to the royal palace. Their Majesties have need of you."

Siren didn't move. "Need of me?" She repeated the words with caution. What in the world could _that_ mean? "To do what?"

"They will discuss that with you there. But I am empowered to inform you that you will be very well compensated for your time."

Siren pressed her lips together before she finally stood up. At least she didn't have anything to gather. Her magic came from the air itself and the air was _everywhere_. If Their Majesties wanted her in richer clothes, then they could provide it for themselves. They clearly had the wherewithal to do so.

Getting up to the palace from there took time. Siren's wings couldn't carry her for long periods of time and hadn't been able to for years, so flying wasn't an option. Her guide had a set of fully functioning wings, shining silver ones, and the longer Siren took to move, the more the guide sniffed and looked annoyed.

Siren ignored that as best that she could though. She'd learned to deal with what she had. She didn't have any real other options.

Besides, it was kind of fun to see the servant's reaction to having to go through all the varied roads and alleyways in this district. The guide had probably flown down, taking the quickest route, and now trudged back.

"I could carry you," the servant finally said after a few moments. "It would be a great deal faster."

Siren glanced over, a faint smile turning her lips up. "That won't be necessary. We're not on a schedule, are we?"

"No." The word ground out and Siren kept on walking. If she'd really _wanted_ to, she could have used her magic for this, but she'd always been of the school that magic should be used when it was necessary, not for ordinary tasks that other methods could accomplish. She could walk to the palace. There was no need to use any of her spell-craft.

It hadn't quite been mid-morning when the knock came on her door. It was just past luncheon when they finally arrived at the doors to the palace. The guards let them in without protest as soon as her guide murmured something to them. Siren watched cautiously, wanting some sort of clue as to what was going on. This was all far more secretive than she truly felt comfortable with.

Again she was guided, but this time it wasn't her territory. The closer they'd come to the palace, the more splendid the homes and buildings around them grew, and she'd not known how to find her way. Being in the palace was ten times worse. There were hallways of finely cut stone hung with tapestries, with rich carpets underfoot and ornaments in niches. The hallways led into rooms and sometimes into stairs, all of them more than wide enough for those with the widest of wingspans to move through with their wings at full reach.

She didn't even try to memorize it all. When she left here – which she told herself would be soon – she would use a spell to lift herself out and get back home the quickest way. Whatever the King and Queen wanted couldn't be that important.

At last they came to a room guarded by two armored warriors, both with fine sets of wings, one of soft blue feathers, the other of gray-green scales. One of them opened the door, allowing them in. Her guide stepped in first, bowing low as soon as they passed the door.

"King Aodh, Queen Kaien, I present to you the wind mage Siren, brought here as swiftly as possible as you commanded."

Siren entered, bowing at once. She'd never met royalty before, but it seemed the polite thing to do. When she looked up, she wasn't surprised to see two finely garbed people looking back at her. King Aodh's wings were as dark as his hair, while Queen Kaien's shone deep chestnut red.

What really surprised her were the kind expressions. They didn't look arrogant or cruel or demanding or what she might have expected of people with their kind of power. She'd never really paid that much attention to their policies, as long as they didn't affect her. Now she wished that she had. It might have helped her understand what they wanted from her.

"Greetings, Mage Siren," the king said, rising to his feet and extending his hand to her in a gesture of greeting. "Welcome. We have a great favor to ask of you."

"What is it?" Siren wanted this out of the way as fast as she could. The longer she was here, the more nervous she found herself.

Queen Kaien answered her. "Please, teach our son to fly."

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** World-building is fun! Also, Yubel next chapter! Also:  
 **Eirian:** bright, beautiful (Welsh)  
 **Aras:** eagle (Lithuanian)  
 **Ilan:** tree (Hebrew)  
 **Kalea:** joy, happiness (Hawaiian)  
 **Parisa:** like a fairy (Persian)  
 **Sarnai:** rose (Mongolian)


	3. Chapter 3

**Words:** 7,402/32,011|| **Chapters:** 3/13

* * *

"Excuse me?" Siren wasn't quite certain that she'd heard that correctly. There were far better fliers in the world than she was. Just because she excelled at air magic didn't make her any kind of a _teacher_ , especially not to a young prince.

But wasn't there something about the prince? She'd heard little about him, but hadn't there been something about when he was born? She couldn't recall; she was too busy being surprised that they were asking this of her in the first place.

King Aodh glanced to her guide and dismissed them with a single wave of his hand. As the door closed, it was just the three of them there, not even any guards. As if she could have done anything to either of them even if she'd wanted to.

Though Siren wasn't at all certain if this were a sign of trust or if it meant they simply weren't worried about her. Their question still rang as a higher priority, though.

"Our son is Flightless," Queen Kaien said moments after the door closed. "But Juudai refuses to give up on the hope that he'll fly one day. He wants to either find a way to craft himself wings or to learn magic to take to the air."

Siren nodded, still trying to wrap her mind around this. Flightless. That didn't seem to quite be everything she'd heard about him, but whatever else it was didn't matter a great deal. She understood a bit better from that handful of words.

"We've done what we can. We've introduced him to the other Flightless in the palace, but I think it only encouraged him to try harder." King Aodh let out a small laugh. "Juudai's stubborn. He doesn't give up on things once he's decided on them."

Queen Kaien took up the thread. "So since there aren't any people who can craft viable wings in the city, we decided to ask for any magicians who can teach him spells to do with flight. You're the best one that we found."

Siren bit her lip. To think that she had something that the king and queen wanted this badly. She raised one hand, gesturing to her own wings. "You know why I specialize in wind magic, don't you?"

"We know. We've done as much research as we could," Queen Kaien said. "You don't have to do this for us. I'm certain Lilah told you that you'd be well compensated if you do, though. Name what your desire is, and if it's within our power, you can have it."

Siren's mouth opened but she couldn't find any words that wanted to come out. Her wings fluttered nervously, sending tiny sparks of pain all through her, which she did her best to ignore.

She swallowed hard and clenched her fists. "Are you serious?" This had to be a jest of some kind. It couldn't be a very good one. The crown prince being Flightless, that was likely true. It didn't happen often in high ranking families but it wasn't unknown, either. For the child to be dedicated to finding a way to fly regardless – frequently Flightless children did that, at least until they figured out it was the next thing to impossible.

But for the king and queen to ask _her_ to teach their son the magic of the wind, that could help someone fly whether or not they had wings? Didn't they have people _here_ who could do that?

She asked it before she even thought that hard about asking it. She had to know.

For a moment the two looked at one another, then the queen looked back at her. "We do have mages who know wind magic. But none of them know the spells that you do for it, or how to reach others. Especially not someone like Juudai."

The questions that sparked must have shown somehow, since the king answered without her needing to speak it out loud.

"Juudai holds the power of the Gentle Darkness. You are aware of the Light of Ruin?"

Siren nodded slowly. There were few mages who didn't know of that power. Some few even served it.

"That power will seek him out. It desires to destroy him in every way possible." King Aodh tilted his head back. "His own power protects him, for now. But at the same time, there are no mages _here_ who feel comfortable trying to teach him anything. His power is very different from theirs. Or from yours, in fairness."

Siren found herself drawing in a deep breath. She'd always rather enjoyed a challenge but this looked to be far more of one than she'd ever experienced before. As she knew of the Light of Ruin, she also knew of the Gentle Darkness, and how it incarnated every now and then. There were stories… so many stories.

They did not always end happily.

Some rumors had it that the war between Light and Dark was why there were Fliers and Flightless. Which side created or supported which no one knew. One of the greatest warlords ever to walk the world had been Flightless. As had one of the greatest heroes. And there had been many on both sides from Fliers and Flightless alike.

"Perhaps if you meet him?" Aodh suggested. Siren steadied herself as best that she could.

She still couldn't entirely believe that she was being asked this. Maybe meeting him would help her make up her mind. She nodded. If nothing else, one couldn't say that they met the crown prince every day in the week.

* * *

Juudai lay on his back and stared up at the sun through the trees.

 _I guess I shouldn't like the sun._ He was supposed to be incarnate darkness – whatever that meant – right? So why did the sun feel so good on him, sinking into his skin, and why did he want to just close his eyes and take a very long nap?

This was one thing that he could do because he didn't have wings. People who had wings couldn't lay on their backs and enjoy the sun like this. They had to lay on their stomachs or sides. They did usually have some sort of protection in the form of their wings, but it wasn't the same.

Maybe his parents were right. Maybe it wasn't all that bad not having wings and he could learn to get used to it? He didn't have to exhaust himself trying to figure out how to make wings or learn magic or whatever.

 _Nope. Still going to._ The magic still seemed like the best way. Only he didn't know any real magic and as hard as he tried, the power of the Gentle Darkness didn't seem to want to _work_ for him. Not to make wings, anyway.

What good was it then? What _good_ could the power of raw justice be if there wasn't any?

He grumbled and rolled over, closing his eyes. The sun felt good on his back. He wriggled a little, hoping he could stay out there longer. Maybe he could even sleep out here tonight. That could be a _lot_ of fun.

Hearing wings beat wasn't all that unusual in the palace. When almost everyone had wings, it was rarer to _not_ hear someone going by in the air. But these didn't sound quite like wings that he knew. Everyone's wingbeats sounded different.

These were wingbeats that he didn't know. That wasn't _necessarily_ a bad thing. Juudai liked meeting people but he hadn't met everyone in the palace. So his first thought was that this was just someone that he hadn't met yet. He rolled halfway back and peeked up to see if he could catch a glimpse of who it was.

Only he couldn't. There wasn't anyone there at all. But he could hear the wings for another few flaps, and then they stopped. A small breath of a noise, as if someone landed, and then just...nothing.

A faint thread of worry ran silvery fingers up Juudai's spine. He didn't like being watched when he didn't know who it was. His parents made him understand from as young as possible that the Light of Ruin was out there and it would want to hurt him and it would use anyone at all that it could to stop him from growing up and being… well… himself.

Whoever it wasn't on the ground. That was the rule when servants approached him; they had to be on the ground. He didn't always remember to look up and it was rude to approach a member of the royal family when they didn't know you were there.

Juudai glanced up to the trees, not all that sure if there really was someone there now. The servants and the people in the palace wouldn't just stare at him. If someone wanted to hurt him they already would have, wouldn't they?

Juudai had to admit that he'd never wanted to hurt someone himself. He didn't know what the rules on that were.

But when he looked up, his eyes met another pair of eyes, shimmering in shades he'd never seen before, green and blue mixed together, wide when whoever owned them realized that he was looking at them.

Juudai couldn't really see who it was, and he decided at once that they probably had to be there, because the guards were set to keep out people who didn't belong in the palace, and there were plenty of spells to keep people out as well. So if they could get past spells and guards, they _had_ to be there.

He sat up, brushing himself off, and kept on staring at the stranger. Those eyes called to him and he wanted to know more about whoever owned them.

"Hi?" He asked, never quite sure of what he should say. He tried a smile. "What are you doing up there?"

The stranger shifted nervously, didn't answer. Then they looked up, elsewhere, and bright wings spread, gleaming in the sun. In another breath they were up in the air, too fast for Juudai to see, let alone follow.

Heartbeats later, his parents landed, with a stranger in tow. Juudai barely gave them a look, but still kept staring at where the stranger had been. Who were they? Why were they there at all? Had they wanted to talk to him?

And if they did, then why hadn't they talked to him at all? They'd left as soon as his parents came over.

 _They were scared?_ He'd seen people scared of his parents before. He didn't quite get why they were, but he'd seen it.

All that passed through his mind in the space of a few heartbeats as Aodh, Kaien, and the stranger moved over towards him. Kaien called his name.

"We've brought someone to meet you, Juudai," she said when he looked over. Juudai wasn't that interested in meeting them, not right now. He wanted to meet that new person with the gem-bright eyes and wings that shimmered ever so faintly in the sunlight.

 _They're not from the Light?_ Juudai didn't think they were. The Light of Ruin, it wouldn't even have servants that felt so right when they were around him.

Aodh cleared his throat. "Juudai?"

Juudai jumped just a bit. His parents weren't _mad_ ; he could tell that right away. But they wanted his attention, whether he wanted to give it to them or not.

"Hi?" He addressed it this time to the newcomer, who didn't look quite human. She had pale green skin and hair that was a mix of blonde and green and pale eyes and large ears with large ridges. Her wings weren't all that big, just enough so he could see them rising up on her shoulders, but he couldn't have said if she could fly with them or not.

Juudai held back a groan but only because he really tried. He didn't want another lesson about how being Flightless wasn't so bad and not even all Fliers could fly and he should just learn to accept what was…

"This is Siren," his mother said before he could put any of that into words. "She's a wind mage."

Juudai nodded. He wanted to find somewhere else to be, somewhere where people wouldn't tell him all these things that made no sense and weren't what he wanted to know at all. Maybe somewhere where he could find that person who'd just left.

They might be just like everyone else but he wanted to talk to them and find out for himself. And he wanted to find out why they'd been watching him in the first place.

Siren stepped forward, looking him up and down. She wasn't that much taller than he was, and he wasn't very tall for his age. But the way that she looked and moved made it clear that she was an adult. She didn't have to be tall to have an adult look in her eyes.

"Do you want to fly?" She asked, her voice crisp and sharp and at odds with her delicate appearance. Juudai stared. No one had ever really asked that before. He'd never given them the chance. Of course he wanted to fly. Because everyone did.

"Yes!" What had they called her… a wind mage? Did that mean… could that mean…

Juudai shivered at the thoughts just starting to surge around inside of himself. He wasn't sure of what the thoughts were, but it was anticipation and curiosity and _hope_ as sudden bright and shining as a star.

"I can help with that. But learning how to fly's going to take a lot of time and you're going to have to study a lot. Study the things that I teach you and that your other tutors teach you. It won't be easy. And you might not even be able to in the end. Not everyone can learn some types of magic." She stared harder at him and Juudai thought she looked slightly unnerved.

He was pretty used to that. Anyone who looked at him too long looked like that.

"Why wouldn't I be able to learn it?" He wanted more of an answer than just 'not everyone can'. Why _couldn't_ they? Why couldn't he?

Siren's lips quirked. "Because of who you are. You've got all this _darkness_ in you." She waved a hand at him. "You could learn to do anything with that. Anything with darkness. But wind isn't darkness. Get it?"

Juudai's jaw dropped. An answer. It wasn't one that he fully understood but it was an _answer_. He nodded slowly, staring in awe at his new teacher.

"Yeah. I got it."

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Yes, that was Yubel. More about them next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Words:** 9,853/32,011|| **Chapters:** 4/13

* * *

Yubel slipped through the cracks in the defenses around the palace, wings tilted to one side to avoid brushing against the hole in the wall that allowed entrance. Once on the other side, they arched upward, more willing to let themselves be seen now that they couldn't be identified as an intruder.

 _I shouldn't have done that._ Oh, but sneaking into the palace grounds was more than thrilling! It answered that deep inside call that had whistled and sung from every scrap of their bones for weeks now.

Only as each moment passed from when their eyes met those of that boy, Yubel found that they wanted to go back, to talk to him, to learn more about him. And that wasn't a good idea. That wasn't even _close_ to a good idea.

Yubel soared their way through the city, coming to a rest at one of the public perching areas. These were large table-like areas where Fliers could stop and rest for periods of time. There were even small stalls set up so one could purchase food or drink – if one had the money.

Yubel didn't have the money. Yubel had to save every scrap that they had for real food. But Yubel was also used to this. Fliers needed to be trim, they reminded themselves on a regular basis. There were few Fliers who were so well-stuffed that they couldn't actually fly. Yubel told themselves that they didn't want to be one of them.

Yubel settled down on the edge of the perching area and tried to catch their breath. Avoiding guards wasn't all that difficult. Finding the cracks in the spells that protected the palace, that was a lot trickier.

 _Can I do it again?_ Yubel hoped. Yubel _wanted_ to, no matter how dangerous it was. Those eyes had been so beautiful, so warm and caring and a rich dark brown that glimmered with curiosity and held shadows Yubel had never known before and found themselves entranced by.

The boy wasn't much older than they were. Maybe even a scrap or two younger. Yubel didn't have a lot of contact with other people, so they weren't all that certain on ages. Besides, the Flightless sometimes looked older than they were. At least they did to Yubel.

Why was a young Flightless in the palace, anyway? Yubel couldn't keep up with the local gossip but they suspected he had to be related to high-ranking nobles, or maybe even royalty. Everyone said that _anyone_ could be Flightless, after all.

Yubel wrapped their wings a bit closer to them, trying not to shiver. They couldn't imagine not being able to fly. Being stuck on the ground had to be _horrible_. How could that boy have such life-filled eyes if he'd never kissed the wind or mounted up as high as he could go?

Those were only the first questions that sprang to mind. Yubel wanted to ask those and so much more. They wanted to know everything there was to know about this boy and tell him what there was to know about them too.

 _Only there's not nearly as much to know about me as there would be about him._ A Flightless who could live in the palace? Sure, he might just be the unlucky offspring of servants, but Yubel sort of doubted that. For one, he'd been dressed very well and not in any kind of servant outfit. For another, they'd seen the _king and queen_ coming over.

Yubel froze at that as what they saw actually sank in. The king and queen. They hadn't waited to see what happened, but they hadn't looked angry or upset. Yubel wasn't sure what they looked like, but they'd learned long ago how to tell if someone _was_ angry or upset from many distances.

That led to one conclusion. Yubel still couldn't be absolutely certain, but it felt like the right one regardless.

 _That was the Prince._

Was the Prince Flightless? Yubel sort of wished that they could listen to more gossip now. Surely people would talk about that. But even in the capital of Kuragari, most people didn't like perchless Fliers to listen in on their conversations.

Guards roamed even the public perches, meant to keep order from Fliers and Flightless alike. Yubel caught sight of one moving in their direction. Not very fast and yet clearly with a focus on them. Yubel briefly sighed, wondering why the Gentle Darkness hadn't granted them life with a perch and kindred of their own yet again.

But what was, was, and Yubel stood up. They'd rested long enough regardless and it was time to start the evening hunt for food. At least _that_ could be safely acquired around here.

They brushed themselves off and leaped upward, wings spreading to catch the wind, and soared, spinning for just the sheer joy of it for a few moments. They caught a glimpse of the guard, who gave them a warning look but no more, and then tilted, heading away.

Another day drew closer to the end, another day where Yubel searched for whatever it was that drove them onward and offered them purpose. It existed. They knew that it did. But knowing it existed and knowing what it was were too entirely different things.

Meeting eyes with that strange Flightless boy who could possibly be the Prince Himself was as close as they'd ever come to it. Yubel refused to believe that it was, though. They were a common born, with no special skills or gifts at all, just the gnawing sense that they needed to find someone and be with them forever.

 _I'll go back later. Maybe if I talk to him… maybe he knows something._ Weren't the royal family supposed to know things? All kinds of things? They should, they were _educated_. If they didn't know it, they knew people who would.

It was worth a try, small as the chances of success might be. And really, what else did Yubel have to do with their time?

* * *

He stood where they would not see him, wrapped in a darkness that was not gentle and a light that would conceal him from all eyes. His attention rested on the gates to the palace as he prepared for his first attempt.

This one would more than likely fail. At least in the larger goal. But it would not fail in the small goals, and for that reason, he was more than willing to take the chance.

He'd watched the palace for days, learning the routines, learning which guards had which habits. He'd learned where to stand so that they wouldn't see him. He couldn't cross the barriers, not yet.

But now it was time to change that.

Discarding his concealment, he strode forward to the road and headed for the gates, as brisk as if he belonged there. He'd learned a very long time ago that if one simply acted in all ways as if one _did_ belong, few stood in their way.

He'd chosen his time with care. These guards were not lazy, but they were very close to the end of their shift, and they were tired. More so, there were people going in and out at this hour, and even the Fliers stayed on the ground to enter the palace.

The closer he drew to the gates, the tenser he found himself. This made sense; if everything turned beyond pear-shaped then he might not even emerge from this with his life. But he would make his attempt regardless. It needed to be done.

The guards checked people as they entered. At this hour, there still weren't that many entering the palace, which put his plan a bit at risk. But he kept on going. He kept himself in the absolute middle of the pathway, letting the presence of others conceal his.

He looked effectively like everyone else. An older man, with sun-darkened skin, eyes still sharp beyond his years, a bit of a limp from an old war wound – which if anyone thought would explain why he didn't fly, since one of his wings also drooped – dressed in clothes just a few notches above commoner garb, that were still clean and well kept.

"Your business here, sir?" One of the guards stepped in front of him before he could cross the threshold.

He smiled. He'd practiced doing it for quite a while before he'd set up his plan and he made certain that it was just the perfect smile of cheer and putting someone at their ease.

"Visiting an old friend of mine. Perhaps you know him. His name's Aibek and he works in the kitchen."

The guard gave him a mildly suspicious look before he held out a small silvery globe. "Repeat that, please, sir."

He rested a hand on the globe without hesitation. "I'm here to visit my friend Aibek, who works in the kitchen here. We grew up together but I haven't seen him in several years."

The globe pulsed warm silver and at the guard's nod he pulled his hand back.

"Carry on, then." The guard gestured him inside and he moved on with nothing more than a courteous nod. It wouldn't be a good idea to linger. That would lead to being memorable, and that wasn't what he wanted at all.

In point of fact, as soon as he left their sight, the guards couldn't have remembered that he'd been there at all. He really didn't like being remembered. It caused so many problems.

He had told the truth, to a degree. He was there to see Aibek. They'd grown up in the same town and he hadn't seen his old friend since Aibek moved to the big city and ended up getting a job in the palace. He'd found other paths to walk, ones that would be far more interesting in the long run.

That was one of the best parts of what he would do to get in. Once he accomplished his mission, the guards and the king and queen would search for someone who'd lied to enter, someone who no one recognized. He wasn't that someone. Not at all.

He made his way through the corridors and down a flight of steps, on occasion asking for the location of the kitchen. No one remembered him moments after he passed.

Finally he stood at the main entrance to the kitchen itself, checking out every face and dismissing them until he saw one just about his age, lined with hard work and effort, removing a tray of pies from the oven. He made his way over there, people avoiding him without being fully aware of what they were doing or why.

"Aibek," he said, resting a hand on his friend's shoulder once he set the pies down on the cooling table. Aibek jerked his head around, pale blue eyes widening, pale blue feathered wings flapping in surprise in the same moment.

"Zahir!" His eyes darted around the room before dropping back. "What are you doing here? Didn't you..."

Zahir raised a finger for silence. "We need to talk. I need your help for something. Step out with me."

He wasn't asking. Aibek knew that he wasn't asking. Asking wasn't what Zahir did. Aibek dusted his hands off and waved to catch someone's attention.

"I'm going to get a bit of fresh air," he said. "I won't be gone long. I just finished tonight's pies."

Whoever he was talking to – one of the higher ranked cooks, Zahir thought – nodded and continued with their own work. Zahir and Aibek headed out of the kitchen, down a short corridor, and through a door that led to a small courtyard filled mostly with herbs of various types, along with some benches.

Aibek dropped down on one of those almost as soon as the door closed behind them.

"What _are_ you doing here?" He asked. "I wouldn't think you'd want to come anywhere near here."

"That's what we need to talk about." Zahir took a step closer. As he did, Aibek stared up at him.

"You're here for _him_ , aren't you? That's why you're out of retirement."

Zahir could already feel himself smiling. Aibek was one of the few people who saw through him, always. It was one of the reasons it was so dangerous to contact him, but so worthwhile at the same time.

"I have my orders," he said smoothly. "And I need very little help from you."

Aibek could not stop his wings from fluttering. That was why he'd never made it very far in their childhood profession – that and he'd always preferred being a baker to start with. Zahir still didn't fully understand how he'd been born into his family. But it did give him a handy pair of eyes and ears at times.

"What kind of help?" Aibek asked after a few very quiet, tense moments. His gaze jerked around the courtyard, every bit as fast as his wings fluttered.

"I only need you to be my friend. Should someone ask about me – which I doubt they will – you need only say that I'm here to visit you and that we have known each other since we were children."

Zahir leaned back, staring up at the sun. "This won't take me long. I can assure you that everything will be all right in the end."

Aibek gave him a look quite similar to the one that he'd shot toward him before he'd left home so many years ago, the look that said so clearly he didn't believe a word Zahir said. "I could be _hung_ if this fails."

"You could be. You might have to come with me when I'm done." Zahir tilted his head towards his childhood friend, lips curving upward. "You should, anyway. I'll need to feed him while we're on the way home anyway. Would you really want him to die like _that_?"

Aibek visibly shuddered. Zahir managed to contain his laughter into a small snort.

"That doesn't mean I won't be hung," Aibek pointed out. Zahir shrugged.

"I'd rather not remind you of what happened before you left. I checked: they still want to _talk_ to you about that." Zahir's smile played over his lips softly. "And I know that you'll be _worse_ than hung there."

Aibek didn't just pale. He turned such a shade of white that Zahir almost wondered if he'd pushed too far. Then Aibek drew a breath and steeled himself.

"Let me know when you'll need me." He didn't sound happy. Zahir wasn't surprised. It wasn't often that an assassin reminded one that their life hung on a childhood promise.

But it would get him what he wanted.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** An evil plan? But of course!


	5. Chapter 5

**Words:** 12,303/32,011|| **Chapters:** 5/13

* * *

Siren needed time before she was ready to even start training Prince Juudai. She had to move her possessions from her tiny home all the way up to the palace and even before that, conduct tests to be absolutely certain that he could learn in the first place. She'd told him: not everyone could learn every type of magic, or even _any_ type.

So now she settled a feather down in front of him and caught his attention. "Concentrate on this," she told him, "and chant this spell. If you have a gift for wind magic, then there will come a day when you don't need the feather to work the spell. But for now, you'll need a focus."

"What will it do?" Juudai asked, eagerness dripping from every word.

"It will enchant the feather to float. It won't rise very high, but if you work at it, and if you have the power for it, you can do make it at least clear the table. This is where we find out if I can teach you anything at all."

Juudai stared at the feather, screwing up his features as if he could make it float just by wanting to. Which he could, she suspected, but it would require focus to do so. She cleared her throat.

"This is the spell." She chanted without putting any effort of magic into the words. She wanted it to work because of Juudai's efforts, not because of her own.

He listened intently and repeated the spell, getting some of the intonations off. She shook her head and corrected him.

"Do it again," she told him. "And keep on trying."

It took twice more before he had the spell down, which was faster than she'd learned it, she had to admit. He stared at the feather some more, lips twisted, eyes focused on the feather, fists clenched, and a tiny trace of sweat trickling down his forehead.

He chanted the spell, pouring all of his energy into it. He would keep doing that, she knew, until he got the hang of magic in general. How fast that would happen she had no idea. He wasn't at all like any student she'd ever known.

Siren started to get up, intending to take care of a few small errands while he practiced. She hadn't even fully gotten to her feet when he squeaked in surprise. She looked back around and her jaw dropped to see the feather floating.

It wasn't floating very high, not nearly as much as it had on her own first successful attempt, but she could clearly see the space between it and the table. When she focused her attention the right way, she could even feel the threads of magic bent to the task: thin and reedy and quivering and would snap in mere moments, but laced all over with something _extra_.

She steadied herself, then nodded approvingly. "Keep it up as long as you can. When it falls, try again. Try to keep it up longer every time. I'll be right back."

She hated leaving a student alone for even a few moments, but right now she needed to process this. If he'd just kept trying and failing, she would have done her errands and returned to encourage him. But now…

The room she'd been assigned to teach him in let out to a small private courtyard. The only way to get to it was from that room. The grass unrolled smooth and flawless, with fragrant flowers blooming in every direction, and a few tall trees, one of which had a perch set up in it. A tinkling fountain also decorated the area, and that was where Siren settled herself. She was a wind mage, but she'd always found the sound of water falling quite soothing.

 _So fast. He picked it up so fast. Is that because of who he is?_ She'd wondered if he wouldn't have the talent because of being so infused with the magic of darkness. Was it the other way around? Could he do more magic because of that?

She didn't know. This wasn't like _anything_ that she'd ever encountered before and she needed to adjust to it. She'd made up her mind to tutor him the moment she'd seen him. So determined, so insistent that he would do this no matter what…

It reminded her of herself, when her wings first started to hurt and she stopped being able to fly unaided. She'd plunged herself headlong into wind magic and won back the skies when everyone told her that it was impossible.

Would Juudai be able to do it? Would he be able to fly? She knew the magic itself could help him. But could _he_ do it?

Only one way to find out, she knew. And she would be there to see it happen.

* * *

Juudai stared at the feather before he reached out to brush it with the very tips of his fingers. He didn't want to do something that would drop it. Just like Teacher Siren said, he wanted to keep it in the air as long as he could.

The idea of learning this kind of magic had _almost_ driven every other thought out of his mind. Almost, but not quite. Once he thought the feather would stay for a while, and that he could get it back up if he had to, his thoughts strayed right back to the stranger he'd seen the day before.

He wanted to know who they were and why they'd left so suddenly. Were they just a traveler who didn't know they shouldn't have been able to pass through the wards around the palace? Everything he'd ever heard of that magic told him that no one should have been able to, but maybe a visitor didn't know that?

That also led to why he wanted to learn this magic. If he could fly for himself, then maybe he could find the stranger, and talk to them. He wanted to do so oh so _very_ much. He tingled from head to foot at the very thought of having a conversation with them.

Who were they? What was their name? Why were they there? Did they _mean_ anything? What did they want? What was their favorite color? What did they like to eat? How fast could they fly?

Those were just the first questions he could think of. He couldn't even begin to imagine all the things he really wanted to know. Was this how people got to know each other? People who weren't princes and nobles, who didn't have their parents arranging meetings for them.

That was true, he realized a heartbeat later. He'd never met _anyone_ that his parents hadn't approved of or arranged for him to meet first. At least not until now, and he sort of hadn't even met them properly just yet either.

But if they were a traveler, they'd probably already traveled on. He might not ever meet them again.

Juudai shuddered and shook his head, the feather collapsing down as the thought interrupted everything else. No. He wasn't going to believe that. Traveler, maybe. Probably. But not ever going to meet them and never know anything else about them?

That he wouldn't stand for. He _would_ do it. He was the Darkness, right? Haou, the Supreme King. So he would find a way to find this person, no matter what it took.

He stared down at the feather again, repeating the chant and watching as it floated back up into the air. It quivered and shook with every moment, but he could keep it up there. At least for now.

Doing that didn't stop him from thinking about other things. He found out fast that as long as he kept at least _most_ of his attention on the floating feather, it stayed right where it was.

He reached out and brushed it carefully, sending it spinning. He wondered if he should tell his parents about this. Maybe Teacher Siren would? That was probably where she was now, telling his parents about how good of a student he was.

Juudai let himself grin at that. He liked the idea of his parents hearing praise about him. Even better, he liked having actually done something so they would praise him.

He spun the feather around a little more, thoughts wandering back to that stranger. He knew he hadn't ever thought about someone like that before. He'd encountered people that he didn't know. It was impossible not to do that in this palace. Just because they all lived there didn't mean he knew all of them.

Juudai finally mentally shrugged and spun the feather again. He wanted to meet the stranger but he wanted to do it in the sky. And he wouldn't do that until he mastered how to fly.

Which meant that first, he needed to make this feather fly.

* * *

Siren steadied herself for whatever she might see and stepped back into the room. She knew what she wanted: to see Juudai floating the feather effortlessly. Or maybe with a _little_ effort. But, floating all the same.

She told herself it could not possibly be that easy. Sure, he'd done it very well on his _first_ try but could he keep it up? How much energy for this did he really have? Or attention?

Pushing all of that away for the moment, she looked inside. For a moment, she didn't fully understand what it was that she saw.

The feather floated. So did the desk the feather had been on. So did the two bookcases. And the curtains. And the chairs. And the carpet.

"Your Highness?" Siren tried very hard not to squeak the words out. She didn't succeed very well.

Juudai peeked down at her from one of the floating chairs and essayed a little wave of his hand. "Teacher Siren," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "I think I did something wrong."

Siren took a few more quiet steps into the room. All around her, the wind magic jangled and sang a broken song, the threads of enchantment tangled and knotting. She swallowed, clenching her fists, keeping her voice as quiet as she could. He was still a child. He wasn't even ten yet.

"What did you do?"

Juudai shrugged, a bit of a smile – a very false one, she realized – brittle on his lips. "I got bored just making the feather float. So I tried the spell on some other things."

Her gaze flicked from one bit to another. From the floating furniture to the flying carpet.

"I see it worked."

It was the first day. He shouldn't have had the skill or the energy or the _ability_ to do something on this scale. And yet, there it all was, casually flying as if this were the most ordinary thing in all the world.

A low pressure spiraled up behind her eyes: the first traces of a deep headache. A faint whisper of prescience told her that this would be the first of many in dealing with young Prince Juudai.

"Yeah. Only, I can't make it stop." Juudai laughed, but he didn't sound happy. "Sorry?" He squeaked again, but this time a little more like a yelp, as the chair floated higher and he cracked his head on the ceiling. "Help? Please?"

Siren wasn't entirely certain if she wanted to cry or scream. She decided doing either one wasn't at all the right idea. This was the royal palace. This was the crown prince. She needed to maintain some sort of control here.

Even more, this was her student, and perhaps stepping outside hadn't been the best idea.

"When I give you an assignment, try not to be quite this creative," she advised as she studied the web of magic. She wasn't certain of how much good her words would do, but perhaps she should have said them the first time. It might have prevented this.

Might. With as much raw power as Juudai had – even more than she'd originally presumed – almost anything could have happened when her back was turned. Or worse, while she was there with him.

Untangling the threads didn't take quite as much effort as she'd first feared. What it did take was _time_ , trying to get it all undone without causing any harm to any of the furniture and decorations, or to Prince Juudai himself as she carefully lowered the chair.

She'd seldom seen anyone afraid of falling. In a world where so many could fly, it wasn't that much of a _thing_. But now Juudai stared over the back of his chair, fingers clutched hard on the back of it, his eyes wide and round and a little unnerved, until it settled down on the floor once more.

Siren absently wondered how many chairs in the palace had needed to be crafted for the use of a Flightless when he was born. Most places the winged folk chose to sit had low backs or no backs at all, to allow space for the wings. But now, thinking about it, she realized there were a few chairs that had backs of various kinds: chairs suitable for the Flightless.

There. Everything that had floated now rested on the floor and wouldn't go sailing off again. She hoped. Unless Juudai tried this again.

"That was fun!" Juudai chirped the moment her attention fell on him again. "It wasn't like flying, though. Not when Mother and Father took me flying!"

"Because it was floating. That's different." Siren settled herself into the other chair. He should have been tired. Much more so than he really was. Instead, he all but vibrated in glee, eyes on her.

"If I'd done it outside, would I have just kept on going? Up and up and up?"

Siren flinched at the very thought. "You probably would have, if no one stopped you." Perhaps that would calm him down enough so she could introduce the concept of _danger_.

Juudai tilted his head some. "That sounds like it would be _fun_."

Or maybe it wouldn't. Siren leaned forward, shaking her head. "Prince Juudai, it wouldn't be safe to keep going like that. You couldn't control where you went or what happened to you." He likely would be stopped before he got into any real risks, but she didn't even want him to think about doing that. Just in case.

He pouted. "Sounds like fun to me. Going up forever." His eyes drifted distant and Siren decided that she didn't want to know what was on his mind. Some things would be better left to the imagination. Or not being thought of at all.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** The first rule of being Juudai's teacher: never leave him unsupervised. He will _do things_.


	6. Chapter 6

**Words:** 14,772/32,011|| **Chapters:** 6/13

* * *

Yubel folded their wings as they came to rest on one of the perches close to the palace. They studied it for a few moments, chewing on one finger.

 _I shouldn't go back. I really shouldn't._ They knew that. They'd _always_ known that. They could even see guards flittering here and there, and a few taking ground routes, Flighted and Flightless both. The king and queen did their very best to protect their home. Yubel couldn't blame them.

But that protection made it _so_ difficult to get in there when all they wanted to do was meet him again. To see those warm eyes turned toward them again, to _speak_ with him. To find out if what they'd thought about him was true.

As much as Yubel knew that they shouldn't, that didn't mean that they didn't want to, or that they didn't come by here every few days, fighting all reason with the burning desire to just flit in and search him out.

They rested a hand on the perch and forced their head away. This was a good spot to see the rest of the city from.

 _Has he ever been up here and seen it?_ Yubel added that to the list of questions that they would ask him when the time came. Because it would come; sooner or later. Somehow. Yubel didn't exactly know how, but the more time passed, the more certain they became of it.

Somehow, they would meet him, and they would be able to ask all they wanted and answer all that _he_ wanted. Surely he had questions too. Surely he felt the same way that they did, that they were drawn to one another.

Yubel didn't know what the word for such a feeling would be. It had to exist; they just didn't know what it would be. And whether or not they could name it, that drawing hummed under their skin and raced along with their blood, spun through their feathers and their hair, and sang in perfect time with every breath that they took.

Yubel leaped forward. There wasn't any thought involved with this. The time was now and they took it. They spread their wings, darting too fast for most of the guards to realize they'd even been there. Timing was everything.

They knew where the gaps in the spell-crafted defenses were. They dodged through them quickly. Yubel had always been able to see magic, but hadn't ever tried to weave it. One needed a proper teacher for that, and teachers required payment. Just getting money to eat and have shelter and clothes was enough of a struggle. Having money for a teacher for a gift that might not even be worth the effort? That was worth a laugh.

But now they flittered through the tiny gaps, resting where they could to avoid the eyes of the guards. They'd done this once before. But Yubel wasn't foolish enough to think that _he_ would be in the same place as before. It wasn't the same day or even the same time of day and very few people's schedules were _that_ strict.

So they searched, taking time to watch for guards and for places they could move through the web of spells, and listened and watched for any sign of him. There weren't so many Flightless here, were they? They could find him. They would _always_ find him.

There were perches inside the palace grounds, Yubel discovered, ones of far finer make than those out in the city. Those were good enough, but these were far better, crafted of rare woods polished to a mirror shine, frequently littered about with couches and chairs that one could rest in.

Yubel could even see some of the nobles lounging on one or two of the perches. They made certain not to perch too near in those cases. If someone got too good of a look, it would be easy to identify Yubel as an intruder. The clothes alone – tattered tunic and sandals that didn't fit nearly as well as they had when Yubel first found them – made that obvious.

So they stayed at a distance and did their best to blend in, staying slumped and looking away, as if a simple servant. Yubel didn't think they would notice a servant.

"You!" A voice cracked out and Yubel leaped up at once, eyes darting around in search of a way to escape. Before they could, though, a tall man with insectoid wings landed in front of them. "Where do you work at?"

Yubel's lip quivered; this was it, they would be taken to the dungeon and never again see the light of day or the rising of the moon, never again fly or dance with the wind. Even worse, they would never see _him_ again.

"Oh, I don't care." The stranger glowered down at Yubel. Yubel noticed they weren't as finely dressed as nobles or royalty would be, though they certainly weren't as poorly clad as they were. "I guess you're new. You don't have a uniform yet?"

Yubel clung to that. "Yessir. I mean, nosir. I don't." It wasn't in all technicality a lie. This was only their second time in the palace environs and they didn't have a uniform – would likely never get one. But that wasn't what had been asked.

"Come with me." He turned and fluttered back into the air, Yubel following nervously. Surely he would figure out that they didn't belong and _then_ they would be sent to the dungeon?

But if this stranger, whoever he was, guessed at what Yubel feared, he made no mention of it. Instead, he guided them to a bathing area and gestured in.

"Go clean up. I'll have a uniform ready when you get out. And hurry it up. The prince needs his lunch soon."

Yubel almost froze on the spot. Could it really be? Had they somehow stumbled into that much luck?

The only thing that kept them from freezing altogether was the stranger pushing them into the bathing area and then stalking off. Yubel stared around in surprise, brain slowly unsticking, then one clear thought burst in.

 _I can see him again!_ And maybe this time they could actually talk to him.

Yubel hadn't ever really wanted to take up a servant's position. Or in truth, they'd never considered that they had the chance. Servants in the royal palace were almost considered royalty themselves, of a different sort. Frequently the position passed down from one generation to another. At least Yubel heard things like that, though it couldn't be entirely true, not if this person thought Yubel was a new servant.

But if it gave them that chance to see him and talk to him, then Yubel would gladly be his servant for all of their days.

Quickly they stripped and plunged into the waiting tub of hot water, scrubbing until their skin turned red. Keeping their wings out of the water turned out a touch more difficult than expected, but Yubel managed it. There were combs and brushes to settle their hair and feathers into place – though they couldn't be as well groomed on the wings as they liked. Reaching them remained difficult.

The stranger – Yubel guessed that he was someone in charge of the servants - threw the door open and stalked in, carrying a supply of clothes that he dropped onto the nearest table.

"Don't take much longer. He's almost finished his morning lessons and he's going to need his lunch," he warned before stalking back out again.

 _Lunch. Lessons._ Yubel couldn't yet wrap their mind about those things, let alone that they might bring him his lunch. But they carefully started to pull the clothes on anyway. Seeing would be believing.

The uniform fit better than Yubel would have presumed without some kind of measurements being taken. It was all in dark gray cloth, soft to the touch, with elegant embroidery around the neck and sleeves and the wing-openings. Yubel slipped their wings through the holes then spread them out for a few moments before refolding them, then reached to get the new shoes provided. Real shoes, not sandals that they'd outgrown far too quickly.

One side of the room had been made out of something reflective. Yubel stared at their own image for a few heart-stopping moments. Never before had they seen something like this – had they seen themselves like this. But there they were, dressed in clean and whole clothes for the very first time in their lives. What would be next, some kind of meal?

No, that couldn't be, not when they were supposed to be taking the prince his meal. But Yubel shivered at that thought as well.

"Good, you're ready. Come on." The senior servant beckoned from the door and Yubel followed, hurrying in his wake as he hurried through the corridors. "What's your name?"

"Yubel, sir," Yubel murmured, more worried with each moment that they would say or do something that would reveal they weren't _really_ a servant to this man. Once that was out, Yubel just knew it would be the dungeons for them. Or worse. Suspected of trying to bring harm to the prince or the king and queen? Execution?

Yubel tried to keep breathing at that. They'd never met them and never thought of any harm to come to them. But would anyone believe them?

He repeated the name to himself a few times, frowning, before he shrugged and stopped before a door. "I can't be expected to remember everyone," he muttered, so low that Yubel almost didn't hear him, before he opened the door and let out some of the most amazing scents that Yubel had ever encountered in their entire life. Their stomach roared at once, ignoring how nervous Yubel was in exchange for demanding some of that food.

The servant looked down, a frown twisting his lips. "You should have already eaten your lunch. If you skipped it, you have to wait until dinner. Understood?"

Yubel gulped and nodded. They had eaten lunch, but lunch had been a half of an apple and half a bowl of soup bought from a street vendor. It would have sufficed for the rest of the day until some dinner could be scrounged somewhere, if all of this wonderful food hadn't presented itself. Now that it had, Yubel knew they were hungry. _Very_ hungry.

The servant called into the room and someone else brought a tray towards them, holding it towards Yubel, who took it gingerly. The tray itself was cool but the plates on it steamed deliciously. Yubel recognized meat and vegetables and what was probably watered wine of some sort – Kuragari was the wine center of the world, after all – but couldn't have named any specific dishes.

"Go that way," the senior servant instructed, gesturing towards another hallway. "Take the third corridor, go up two flights of stairs, and then the second hallway after that. The prince will be in the second room on the left. Come back right away or when he dismisses you, whichever comes first."

Yubel nodded and hurried away, repeating the directions silently as they did. They weren't going to go wrong here. A chance like this could never come again.

Third corridor. Yubel counted as they passed them, wondering what lay down the first and second. _I won't find out. I can't stay here._ It would be too risky. This was the royal palace. They didn't hire scruffy little nothings like them to work here. This was all a glorious mistake and the best thing to do would be to get out after actually being blessed enough to meet the prince. But they weren't going to push their luck.

Yubel spied the first flight of stairs and headed up there. One good point about all of this was that the whole palace had clearly been designed for use by those with wings, even the servants. The steps were wide and easy to climb, and if Yubel had dared, they could have flown up them. Carrying the tray made it more difficult, though, so that was a chance Yubel didn't take.

Instead, they just hurried along, trying to get there before the food got cold. Though a careful look at it showed that wasn't a problem either: enchantments had been set on it that were likely there to keep the food hot. Yubel could see magic. Yubel didn't always know what the magic had been cast to do.

The closer they came to where the prince was supposed to be, the more nervous Yubel grew. The tray was heavy, though not so much that they couldn't carry it safely, but it seemed to get worse with each moment anyway. Yubel didn't know what could be nerves and what could just be the tray itself.

A guard stood outside the door and the moment she caught sight of Yubel, she raised her weapon to bar the way.

"Your purpose?"

Yubel tensed, a ripple of worry flickering through their wings. Magic flowed all around this guardswoman, bright red like fire. Yubel swallowed. More truth, just a little shaded.

"I'm bringing the prince his dinner," they said, holding up the tray. The guardswoman gave it a careful look, then stepped aside, opening the door.

"Go on, then. You're new, aren't you?"

Yubel wondered how often they would be asked that before they could get out of there. But for now, they just nodded, and hurried into the room.

And just like that, he was there. The room itself had two exits, the door Yubel came in by and one other one. Someone wrapped in magic, with poorly kept wings, stood near that door, but all of Yubel's attention remained focused on the prince.

To most eyes he would have been sort of dull. Ordinary brown hair and eyes, a little thin compared to most Fliers of his age, though very well dressed, as befit a prince. To Yubel, he glowed with an inner strength that made them want to stay by his side forever.

He looked toward them as they entered, and Yubel ducked their head down on instinct as they carried the tray to the table in front of him. He said nothing at all and Yubel focused on setting the food before him instead of anything else. They were posing as a servant. That was what a servant would do.

Then the food was there and he hadn't said anything, and Yubel began to take a step back. It had all been inside their own head and he'd never felt anything, never knew, never guessed…

They turned toward the door.

"Wait."

Yubel froze. The prince rose up and stared at them, until without warning, his entire face lit up in sheer joy.

"It's you!"

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** And so they first _really_ meet.


	7. Chapter 7

**Words:** 17,288/32,011|| **Chapters:** 7/13

* * *

Tiny prickles of pleasure ran all through Juudai as he stared at the servant who couldn't possibly be a servant, because he _knew_ all the servants who brought the food and this wasn't one of them. This was someone else entirely.

"It's you." He said it again, standing up and taking a couple of quick steps towards them. "It's really you."

The not-servant turned toward him and he stared at them, a feeling he'd never felt before coursing from his head to his feet. If he'd tried to put it into words, it would have been the strangest mixture of _We meet again_ and _We're finally meeting_.

A nervous little smile fluttered over their lips. "Hi?" They murmured, still gripping the tray. Juudai blinked, then laughed a nervous laugh all of his own.

"Your Highness?" Teacher Siren spoke up before he could say anything else. "Is something the matter?"

Juudai shook his head, grinning so wide he wouldn't have been surprised if his head fell off from sheer joy. "No. I just didn't expect to see them here."

Siren looked from him to the not-servant and back again. "I asked for lunch."

Juudai laughed again, reaching out toward the not-stranger. "Not like that." He wasn't sure of how to describe any of this and just went for whatever came to his lips. "They're not a servant. I don't even know their name. But I know them, and I'm so glad to see them."

"Yubel," the not-stranger said, not moving away. "My name's Yubel."

 _Yubel._ Juudai repeated the name out loud. It tasted sweet and delightful and fun and _right_ , like his tongue had waited to say the name. Like the name had been a part of him and he hadn't known it until now.

Yubel nodded, red creeping over their cheeks. Juudai remembered his manners a heartbeat later.

"I'm Juudai!" He held his hand out and Yubel stared at it for a few moments before setting their hand into his. "Nice to meet you!" Nice didn't even come close to how he felt, but he wasn't sure what else to call it.

"Likewise," Yubel murmured, staring at him. Juudai stared back, unaware of everything for the most part. He sort of knew that Siren was there and of the food on the table, but none of it seemed to really _matter_ , not when Yubel was there.

Siren cleared her throat. "You two know each other?"

"We met the other day. Somewhat." Yubel stared at him, not pulling their gaze away any more than Juudai did. "I… I didn't think we'd meet like this."

Juudai thought that Siren said something else. She at least stepped out. How nice of her to give them some time alone with one another!

"Neither did I," Juudai said. "Why were you there? How did you get here today? You don't really work here."

Yubel ducked their head. "No. I was … I was looking for you, actually. I wanted to meet you and then someone mistook me for a servant." They plucked at their uniform. "I know I don't belong in this."

Juudai moved closer. "You might not, but that doesn't mean you don't belong here. You can stay as long as you want. I'll make sure Mother and Father let you."

Yubel peeked over at him, worry and hope flickering in equal measures. "Why would you do that? You don't know me that well. Or… at all, really."

"Yes, I do." Juudai blinked a couple of times, tilting his head. The idea of not knowing Yubel didn't seem right at all. How could he not know Yubel? Yubel was Yubel and he was Juudai and of _course_ they knew each other. It was one of those things, like the sun going down in the evening and the stars coming out.

"But…"

If Yubel were going to say something else, Juudai interrupted it. He wanted Yubel to stay and all he had to do for that was to ask his parents. Then everything would be all right.

And Yubel wouldn't be a _servant_ either. Yubel was his friend. Yubel was as necessary to existence as the air was. Yubel would be… would just be there. Yubel didn't need anything but that and neither did Juudai.

But now something else came to mind.

"Can I touch your wings?" They were beautiful wings, large for Yubel's size, folded up against their back, shimmering in shades of blue, with bright emerald undertones. Juudai thought they needed a good brushing, seeing tiny specks of mud here and there, but they were beautiful even with that.

Yubel squeaked at the question, reddening even further. But they nodded, shoulders a bit tense, and head ducked down even more. Juudai would have asked if something was wrong, if he hadn't wanted to touch those wings so very much.

So as it was, he rested first one hand, then the other, on Yubel's wings, sinking his fingers into the warm feathers and letting out a content sigh.

"They're even better than my mother's wings," he murmured. "I didn't think there could be better wings than her wings."

Yubel fidgeted a bit under his touch but didn't try to move away. "I can take you flying if you want. I'm strong. I can carry you."

Juudai lit up like the full moon at that. "Really?" He'd never had such an offer. His parents carried him flying whenever they had time and he wanted to, but this was different. This was someone who was _other_ than family. This was _Yubel_ offering! This was something amazing!

Yubel nodded at the question. "Whenever you want to fly, I'll take you. Wherever you want to go."

Juudai could only imagine the possibilities from there. He'd had geography lessons. He didn't remember them all but he'd had them and he remembered so many cities in Kuragari itself and the lands beyond the ocean. Cities and mountains and deserts and forests and valleys and villages and rivers and waterfalls – everything he'd ever heard of and many he hadn't, places he'd only seen pictures of or heard stories about. He'd never thought he could see them. The Flightless needed so much _work_ to go places, even with magic to help them.

He brightened even more at that. "You can help me, but I can help, too! Watch!"

Juudai turned his attention to the plates of food and concentrated, remembering the spell to make things float. He hadn't tried it on anything that Siren hadn't approved since that first day of his lessons, but this was a special occasion. He wanted Yubel to see what he could do, to see that he wasn't helpless and useless.

It took two tries to get it going correctly, but then the plates rose up into the air. They were sort of unsteady and he had to fight to make certain that they didn't tip over, but he did it! He made them float.

"That's amazing!" Yubel declared, staring at the dishes in awe. "How are you doing that?"

"It's wind magic. Teacher Siren is teaching me. When I get strong enough and good enough at it, then I'm going to be able to make _myself_ fly!" Juudai beamed at Yubel in absolute glee. "Then we can fly together!"

Yubel smiled back, though their expression was a little weaker than his. He wondered how often Yubel had been able to be happy before.

 _They'll always be happy with me!_ Juudai promised himself. He would find out whatever Yubel needed to be happy and make certain that it happened.

His stomach rumbled without warning as he settled the dishes back down on the table. He flushed, rubbing the back of his head briefly. "Uh, do you want some lunch? Doing magic makes me hungry. There's enough here for both of us." They always brought him so much. Usually he ate it all, too. Today he thought sharing with Yubel would be even better.

"I-I really..."

Juudai guessed that Yubel was hungry. At least he thought that was what those little darting looks at the food meant, and the way that their wings quivered a bit. He grabbed hold of Yubel's wrist and tugged them to the table.

"It's really good! You'll like it!" He hoped Yubel would anyway. Yubel looked a little too thin in his opinion. That was something else he would have to fix.

Juudai hadn't wanted to fix many things, not like this. The fact that not everyone could fly had been one of the first. But now he wanted to do all that he could to help Yubel, to make life as good for them as he possibly could.

He grabbed onto a slice of roast and offered it up. People who flew needed lots of meat, he'd heard, because flying took up so much energy and meat did pretty good at providing energy.

Yubel accepted it, chewing carefully, eyes growing wider with pleasure at each passing moment. Juudai grinned; he'd known they would like it! He grabbed a piece for himself, savoring it for the first few bites, trying to imagine what it must taste like to Yubel. If it was anything like it tasted to him, it was probably something like… heaven itself.

Together the two of them cleared off all the food in a matter of moments. Juudai sank down into his chair, happily admiring Yubel, Yubel's wings, and everything else that he could see about them. He wanted to call his parents in and have them meet Yubel. He wanted to have Yubel moved right into the extra room in his suite – unused and empty and perfect for Yubel to move into. He would be able to talk to Yubel whenever he wanted, and they could _do_ anything that they wanted. His parents would approve. He would have to tell them what he wanted.

He yawned, vaguely aware that he'd babbled all of that to Yubel and Yubel just kept on looking at him, as if they didn't quite believe what he was saying.

"I really will," he said, most of what he wanted to say cut off by a deep yawn. "I don't want you to ever go away." Why would he ever want that? Yubel was as much a part of him as his fingers and toes. Maybe more. He could get by without his fingers and toes if he really had to. Now that he'd met Yubel, he wasn't sure if he could get by without them. Nor did he ever want to find out.

"I'd like that," Yubel murmured, covering a yawn of their own with one hand. Juudai smiled. Sometimes he took a nap after lunch, if he'd had a big morning. He counted meeting Yubel as a big morning.

He sort of wondered where Teacher Siren was, but figured she'd show up again sooner or later. What had she gone off to do again? He couldn't remember.

Probably didn't matter. He yawned again. He usually took his nap in his room, but here seemed good enough for the moment. He smiled sloppily at Yubel, who already had sunk down into the chair across from him and had their eyes closed.

"You'll still be here when I wake up, won't you?" Juudai feared for a few seconds that Yubel would end up being the sort of dream that he only dreamed once and he'd never see them again if he took his eyes away.

Yubel dragged their eyes open for a few moments and smiled a smile that warmed Juudai all over, all again. "Yes," they murmured. "As long as you want me here."

"I'll always want you," Juudai promised. "Always." And he closed his eyes and let sleep have him.

* * *

A door that few knew existed in that room opened. And by 'few' it is meant that only one knew, because he'd gone to a great deal of trouble to insert the door into the room. Once he'd finished his work here, it wouldn't exist any more.

Zahir took the few necessary, quiet steps to where the prince lay slumped down in the chair, eyes closed, snoring ever so softly. He fingered the knife at his waist, imagining what would happen if he used it.

 _Not what they want to happen._ His employers made it clear: the prince was to be brought to them. No harm was to come to him. If this meant it took time to get him there in one piece, then so be it.

He wasn't certain what they wanted the prince for, only that he'd been paid an incredible amount of money to bring him there. Hiring an assassin to do this – and not to kill him – certainly made Zahir wonder at their goals.

But not enough for him not to do what he'd been paid for. He'd killed younger than this before, and he suspected he would do so again.

The Flighted one that he'd used to bring the food stirred briefly. Zahir allowed himself a few moments to smirk. What he'd put in that food was more than enough to keep them both out for hours, even with it split between the two of them.

This one would be an excellent distraction. It hadn't been hard at all to guess that someone in such poor clothes and clearly not getting regular meals wasn't someone who belonged on the palace staff. Offering food and warmth and shelter would distract _them_ as well.

Zahir carefully scooped up the prince and tossed him over one shoulder. Just as well that he was of the Flightless. Wings would make it that much hard to take him away.

He cast a quick glance around the room, making certain he'd left nothing to betray his presence. If this 'Yubel' mentioned him, it wouldn't cause any real issues. Disguise magic made his life so much easier.

Carrying the prince, Zahir stepped through his enchanted portal, which spiraled closed behind him, leaving Yubel sound asleep.

* * *

Siren hurried along back to the chamber, the king and queen following in her wake. She hoped everything would be all right when they got there. That strange new servant – Siren didn't trust them at all. Not with how _happy_ the prince was to see them there. It didn't feel right, not to her.

So the king and queen would settle this. Or so she hoped; perhaps this was something she just didn't have all the facts on. She wanted that to be it. She wanted this to be a mistake.

"Burst Lady Shula," the queen said as they arrived at the door. "Has anyone come in or out since Siren left?"

The fire warrior shook her head. "It's been very quiet, Majesty. I think His Highness fell asleep after his lunch." A small frown touched her lips. "I presume the servant stayed in there with him?"

King Aodh opened the door without another word and looked inside. Siren could see him paling, the queen mirroring his expression. When she could see past them, she could feel her own blood draining.

The prince wasn't there.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I could say so much but I will keep it all for later.


	8. Chapter 8

**Words:** 19,760/32,011|| **Chapters:** 8/13

* * *

Magical energy spiraled from nowhere, forming itself into a circular door that swung open without being touched. Zahir stepped through it, closing it with a nod of his head, and carried his slumbering burden over to the nearby couch, settling him down on it.

There weren't any other doors out of this room. There had been, once upon a time, but with remodeling done and parts of the old palace being walled off or partially torn down or repurposed for other things, this particular room ended up being sealed off from the rest of the building.

Which made it perfect for Zahir's needs. There were a few tiny holes that let in air and he brought with him a few crystals that shone with a deep light that could easily be extinguished if necessary.

 _Three days,_ he decided. That would be long enough to stay here before he moved the prince to his next location. Taking him to where his employers waited would likely be a very long project, but he'd made careful plans.

Part of those plans he put into action now, picking up a coil of faintly glowing rope he'd stored here, and using it to bind the prince hand and foot. Again, it was so very _useful_ that he was of the Flightless. Binding those with wings could be done, but not as easily.

Once that was done, and he'd made certain the bindings were tight enough to ensure the prince wouldn't be able to get out of them, he drew out a handkerchief and gagged the prince tightly. From what he'd learned the boy was studying magic, and Zahir refused to let his prey slip away because he'd forgotten such a simple thing.

Now, one more precaution. Zahir inspected his collection of magical items and slipped out a thick leather collar, set with dull blue sapphires, and fastened it around the prince's neck. He nodded; that settled everything.

He straightened himself up and considered his next move. He truly needed to do little other than keep an eye on the movements of the guard and the king and queen for the next three days. He'd already decided on where he would take the prince when that was done.

Part of him wanted to just _go_ ; to get out of the castle and as far from their warding and warning magic as he could. He'd done everything he could think of to avoid being caught by it, but he couldn't help the worry in the back of his mind that he would somehow be caught, that something would go wrong somewhere.

 _You're a professional_ , Zahir reminded himself, going to sit on what was a proper chair only by the application of magic. _Everything is going to be fine._

He didn't make mistakes, not ones that could lead to his defeat. He might not be the _best_ assassin that had ever lived, but he took the most precautions, and that went a long way towards making him one of the most successful. He was honestly surprised that so much had gone his way so far. He'd been prepared to make multiple attempts to enter the castle by different methods, for Aibek not to want to speak to him or be unable to help him, or unwilling, or for anything he'd considered to just go wrong.

The fact it hadn't worried him.

Zahir closed his eyes in thought, considering his lesser actions to come. He would have to speak with Aibek to get matters sorted. It would be better if the supplies he wanted were made slowly, along with the regular food being prepared.

He hadn't decided on if Aibek would make it back with him safely or not. His old friend wasn't _wanted_ by their people, but he could gain quite a bit of extra prestige if he returned with evidence of Aibek's assistance _and_ that Aibek had – most tragically, of course – sacrificed himself for the completion of the mission.

That would get his old friend definite honors. If he'd had any kindred left – which he didn't – they would have been awarded a lifelong pension in addition to whatever they earned for themselves. Aibek knew that of course; it was standard for everyone in their profession, so long as they fell in the line of duty.

But Zahir wasn't set on what to do just yet. He would need Aibek for a little while longer regardless. He could delay the decision.

With a flick of a finger, he let his current disguise, the one that he'd crafted for the benefit of deceiving the child who'd carried the tray, fade away, replacing it with the guise that he'd used when entering the castle. This one would be slightly more familiar to the people in the kitchen. In the four days since his arrival there, he'd gone out of his way to be a cheerful helper, carrying trays here and there – never to anyone in the royal family, he'd gone out of his way to ensure that he never was seen by them – and helping with simple actions such as washing dishes and putting them away. Most of the kitchen staff saw him as one of their own, though he'd made certain to tell them all that he was only there to visit his friend and would leave in a short time.

He would return here after he'd put the child-prince in storage outside of the castle, to keep up the deception. Idiots alone actually vanished after a successful mission. He made certain he was seen before, during, and after, to keep up the pretense. It helped with his reputation so very much.

A quick glance to the time told him he needed to return to the kitchen now, furthering his pretense. He stepped out of the chamber with the assistance of his enchanted door, turning up in Aibek's chamber, much closer to the kitchen.

Aibek was still there, staring into a cup of something that probably held more alcohol than Zahir thought necessary. He glanced up when Zahir appeared, though.

"The castle's in an uproar," Aibek said quietly. "The prince has vanished."

Zahir did his best to appear confused, though the thought of snickering did occur to him. "Has he now?"

"You did it." Aibek got right to the point. Zahir shrugged.

"Yes." Why argue the point when Aibek had known that was his goal all along. "We won't be here much longer. I'll need the meals I asked for soon. Enough for three."

Aibek's fingers pressed hard against his cup. "So you still think I should go with you."

"I think they'll figure out you had something to do with this sooner or later. They'll track down the drugs in the food and that will lead them to the kitchen. You're the only one who has any recent outside visitors… even if your outside visitor friend can easily pass any tests they set." Zahir smirked at that. It was another reason he'd used the blue-winged brat to take the food to the prince. Even under the strongest truth spells, he could say, and believe, that he'd not drugged the prince, nor had he brought him harm in any way.

Sleeping potions weren't harmful, after all, even of the amount that he'd provided.

He leaned forward. "And once they figure out where you come from, do you really think they'll ask any more questions? And while they're doing that, I'll be finishing my job." He smiled in satisfaction, more so when Aibek threw the rest of his drink down his throat. "Come on, old friend. Let's go to work."

* * *

Aodh's lips pressed together as he stared at the stranger, still sleeping soundly. He glanced briefly towards the blue-skinned mage who stood nearby, watching the stranger sleep with a faintly curious expression in her eyes.

"Healer Heather?" The king wanted to know more than he did, even as his warriors and servants scoured the castle for any sign of his son. "What can you say?"

"This person will awaken soon, my lord," Heather said, not lifting their gaze up. "But I have already examined their soul. There is no malice in them towards Prince Juudai."

That wasn't going to reassure him. This person could at least have information on his son's whereabouts, and that was information he wanted badly.

A click came from the door leading outside. Aodh looked to see Kaien and Shula entering the room. Shula's head remained tucked down, and tiny flickers of flame criss-crossed her wings, the only outward sign of the rage that burned within her. He quite looked forward to seeing what she did when the kidnapper or kidnappers were found.

"Any sign?" He knew the answer before he even asked the question. If they'd found a single trace, they wouldn't be here now.

Kaien shook her head. He would never forget that they had first met one another on the battlefield, and that she'd performed far more admirably than he had that day. Never forgetting, but today, he could see that warrior once again in all of her glorious rage.

"The palace defenses are built to keep people out who intend harm. But there's such a broad definition of what harm can be that there are ways to get through them." Kaien reached for a cup of wine. Aodh rested his hand on hers for a brief moment, offering a reassuring smile. They would retrieve their son. Neither of them doubted this.

Neither of them dared to doubt it for a single moment.

Heather cleared her throat politely, the tips of her grass-green wings brushing against the floor as she pulled herself up. Aodh looked to see what she wanted, and spied the young stranger beginning to move.

Both he and Kaien stood before her, faces set into the sternest expressions possible. It wasn't at all impossible that they could know where Juudai was. Not meaning him harm could mean far more than being innocent.

Jewel-bright eyes, only faintly dulled by the remnants of the sleeping potion, opened. The stranger looked around, not having caught sight of them yet.

"Your Highness?" They murmured. Aodh took a step forward.

"We would rather like to know our son's location as well, _stranger_."

Their head snapped up, the dullness vanishing from their eyes, replaced by shock as they scrambled back, wings starting to spread.

Shura cleared her throat, her own flame-red wings spreading in warning. "I would not attempt to leave. We have _many_ questions. Starting with where you acquired that uniform."

Aodh nodded; he didn't know all of the people who worked in the palace, but he'd been reliably informed that no new servants had been hired in the last six months, and he considered himself reasonably certain that he would have seen this one at some point in that span of time.

The stranger drew themselves together, eyes darting back and forth, tips of the wings quivering. "He gave it to me. I wasn't trying to do anything wrong." Their voice quivered more. "Please, where's the prince? Can I… at least say good-bye to him?"

Aodh stared at them more intently. What they said almost, but not quite, made sense. He drew in a breath, but Kaien beat him to saying anything at all.

"Answer these questions. Who are you? What is your name?"

The stranger stared up at her before swallowing. "My name is Yubel. I'm… no one, really. No one at all. But I saw the prince the other day and..." They swallowed again, ducking their head down, and Aodh was almost certain he saw a blush there. "I wanted to see him again. That's why I came back."

Kaien nodded a trifle. "Who did you say gave you the uniform? And I presume told you to bring Juudai his lunch?"

"I don't know his name. I was sitting outside and he called me. I thought he thought I was a servant." Their arms gripped around their knees tighter. "I'm not. I knew I wasn't, but when he said I had to serve the prince, I just … had to do it. I would see him. That's all I wanted. To see him again."

"Yes, I think we gathered that much," Aodh muttered. He'd never believed in love at first sight – even when he'd first seen Kaien, he'd been more fascinated and slightly terrified. He wanted – would need to see Juudai – to know if this were anything more than the fascination some people had for the Flightless. And he definitely wanted to let some time pass, to have them grow up and learn about each other, before he agreed to _anything_.

And all of that wouldn't matter if this Yubel had been in any way truly, willingly, knowingly associated with Juudai's abduction.

He wondered how old they were. Perhaps around Juudai's age or a bit older: not even a proper ten years old just yet he thought. From what he could tell, they hadn't had regular meals for some time either.

So much that he didn't know. But he would learn it all, and then decide on what to do with it.

Kaien leaned forward. "What did he look like? Describe him the best you can."

Before Yubel could get started on that, Heather raised a hand. "Excuse me, Majesties. If you would allow me, then I can help here." She turned toward Yubel. "Think on him and what he looked like. What he said and what he did. I can pull the memory from your mind and show it to Their Majesties."

Yubel worried at their lip for a brief moment before nodding. Aodh wondered why the trust, and wondered if it even was trust at all.

He kept his lips together, however, as Heather spun her spell, a circle of pale green smoke wrapping around Yubel's head for a few breaths before sinking inside, leaving a puff of smoke outside of it. For several long minutes nothing at all seemed to happen. Then, an image formed in the smoke, that of a man wearing a palace uniform.

"I don't know him." Aodh said flatly. It wasn't the person he knew would have been in charge of the servants. But someone like Yubel, utterly innocent to the palace and customs and people, wouldn't have known that. Offered the chance to see the prince in person… Aodh couldn't really blame them for that.

"Neither do I," Kaien said, lips pressing together. "We need an artist to create a picture of this. Then we have a great deal of ground to cover."

Aodh nodded, indicating to Heather to release the spell. Yubel breathed out as the healer did, slowly opening their eyes before looking at the four staring back at them.

"I'm sorry," they murmured, "and I'll help you find the prince, no matter what."

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Next chapter we turn to Juudai. He is not a happy camper.


	9. Chapter 9

**Word Count:** 22,215/32,011|| **Chapters:** 9/13

* * *

Juudai tried to roll over only to find out that he couldn't. He tried to blink, too, but his eyes didn't seem to want to co operate. He wriggled; had he gotten himself all tied up in his bedsheets somehow?

No, but it did sort of seem that he was tied up. He managed to at least drag his eyes open and tried to figure out what was going on.

The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't where he'd gone to sleep. That wouldn't have been such a surprise if he'd ended up in his bedroom. If that were the case, his parents had probably put him there. It wouldn't be the first time.

But his bedroom was a lot cleaner and a lot bigger than where he was now, not to mention _not_ halfway falling apart.

He tried his best to wriggle up, only to find that he couldn't move all that much. He wanted to, but the ropes he finally saw wrapped around him kept him restrained. Something had been stuffed into his mouth too, preventing him from yelling.

Another piece of memory clicked into place and he looked around even more. A muffled word tried to emerge, but even if there had been someone else to hear him, they wouldn't have been able to make sense of what he said.

But he knew: Yubel. Where was Yubel? Where was _he_?

He wriggled harder, wanting to at least fall off the couch. That would be progress. Maybe he could even work the ropes off if he did that.

But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get himself to move enough to do anything, and after a few minutes, he slumped back down, glowering in annoyance at the roof overhead. The roof hadn't done anything wrong, but it was all that he could really see at the moment.

Juudai decided he didn't want to stare at the roof and closed his eyes, thinking. If he could get the gag out, then maybe some of the wind magic he knew could help? If he couldn't get himself free, he could at least bang things around until someone came to see what the noise was about?

He liked that idea quite a lot, until he peeked out again, trying to get a better view of the room, and noticed something he'd missed the first time: this place didn't have any windows or doors anywhere. So even if someone heard noises – which they probably wouldn't – they might not be able to get in here to find out what they were.

What it did have were walls and if he stared hard enough, he thought he saw a tiny little slit high up on one of those walls and he stared even harder, trying to decide if that were blue sky on the other side.

Eventually he dropped his head back and tried to look around again, wishing he could rub his eyes. There were a few scattered pieces of furniture here as well, like the sofa he lay on, and a chair set where if someone sat in it, they could look right at him.

A table, one leg cracked clean through and leaning over, completed the furnishings. Juudai wasn't impressed. What he wanted was to go home. To find Yubel and take them to his parents and get Yubel set up in a room in the palace. Now that they'd met one another, Juudai knew that he couldn't possibly exist without Yubel in his life. He hoped they felt the same way. That was another reason he wanted out of there: he needed to ask Yubel that.

He wriggled more. For the first time in his life since it really dawned on him that he'd never have wings, he found he was glad that he didn't. Wings would just get in the way right now. They'd probably get all jammed up on things too.

His stomach churned without warning and for a few seconds his eyes blurred. Juudai couldn't help a sharp spike of fear that something had just gone horribly wrong. Then the world put itself back together and where he'd been the only person in the room a few seconds earlier, now two men stood there next to him.

He stared at them, frowning, wriggling harder. The first thought was that they were somehow here to rescue him. How else could they have gotten in here, after all? They'd done some magic and now they would take him back to his parents.

But one of them folded himself down into the chair, amused eyes focused on Juudai, while the other hovered behind the chair, eyes flicking here and there, but never actually looking at Juudai.

"I see the little prince is awake," he said, voice low and smooth and terrifying. "You don't need to worry. Another few days and we'll be on our way."

Juudai frowned and shook his head, not quite understanding and not even sure if he wanted to. The gag kept him from saying anything, but with every word the new stranger said, he suspected these were _not_ friends.

"You may refer to me as Zahir," the first one said, then waved a hand at his companion. "He is Aibek. If you enjoyed your previous meal, you should thank him. He added those very special ingredients." The smile on his lips dripped sarcasm.

Juudai drew a breath then forced himself to sit up. It actually succeeded, for a few seconds, before he crashed back downward, panting. Zahir chuckled.

"I've gone to a great deal of trouble to make certain that you don't escape me. You have no idea of how much I'm being paid to bring you to my employers – alive." Zahir stared down, his eyes suddenly as flat and cold as a lizard's. "I'll be paid _less_ if you somehow end up dying, but I'll still be paid, and you'll still be dead. Your best chance to survive is to be a very good little boy and do exactly what you're told to do. Not just with me, but in your new home."

Juudai blinked. He wasn't sure how much of that he understood – someone paid this guy to do this? But why? Couldn't he get a real job? Or a job that didn't involve hurting other people? And what did he mean 'new home'?

He slowly shook his head. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew one thing without a shadow of a doubt: he wasn't going anywhere with these people, no matter what.

He drew another breath, ignoring Zahir as he and Aibek talked about something or other – trip preparations, from the few words he caught. Instead, he searched around again, and saw all the trash on the floor, drifting into small piles.

It was probably the only chance that he got. He strained himself to the limit, reciting the incantations that Teacher Siren taught him. He was going to do something. He wasn't going to just lay there and let whatever they had in mind happen.

But nothing happened. He chanted in his mind over and over again. Siren told him that if he put enough effort into it, then he would be able to call the winds even without being able to speak. Casting magic silently wasn't something every magician could do, but she'd assured him that he would be able to.

Only now he wasn't sure if she meant he'd be able to do it _now_ or after he practiced and practiced and _practiced_.

It would probably be after practice. As much as he tried, he couldn't even get a small whiff of wind to blow.

Zahir glanced back at him, the side of his mouth quirking. "You're trying to use magic, little prince? It won't work."

Juudai glared harder, straining to wriggle up and not doing an especially good job of it. He didn't know how the kidnapper knew that, but he wasn't going to say anything.

Well, he couldn't, because of the gag, but even if he hadn't had that to deal with, he wouldn't have.

Zahir leaned over and rested a finger on something. Juudai blinked, trying to figure this out. He hadn't even noticed there was something extra around his neck. It was thick and heavy and he'd been so focused on trying to escape that it just slipped his notice altogether, until now.

"This will keep you from using all magic: that wind magic you've been learning and the Gentle Darkness as well." His lip curled up when he spoke those last few words. "I would get very used to wearing this, too."

Juudai wriggled more. He was getting far too used to that not doing anything, though. He could see the ropes binding him and now that he looked hard enough, he could see a faint glow around them. Probably some other kind of magic.

"I think he's spent enough time trying to escape. He's very tired and I'm sure very thirsty. Aibek, old friend?"

Juudai blinked for a second, too startled to do anything else as Aibek stepped forward and pulled the gag down. He started to say something, but a bottle of some kind was tilted to his lips and water poured down his throat.

He coughed and spluttered, not wanting anything they gave him, but quite a bit ended up inside of him regardless. As soon as the bottle had been emptied, Zahir tied the gag around his mouth again, just as tight as before. Juudai couldn't talk properly with it in there, but he remembered a few words that he'd heard one of the grooms using one time and did his best to snap those, even if he couldn't be heard.

Zahir and Aibek exchanged a look, with far more amusement on Zahir's side, then began their chat again. Juudai wanted to fight some more, to make even more attempts to get free, but with every passing moment, his whole body grew heavier and heavier, until his eyes closed and he unwillingly slept.

* * *

Juudai was there somewhere. Yubel could feel it in every tiny part of themselves. They weren't sure _where_ he was, just that he _was_ there.

So now Yubel flew over the palace and the city, looking for any sign whatsoever of where he might be.

They weren't the only one doing this. All of the guards searched endlessly, as did the king and queen, and Juudai's mage-craft teacher as well. Each had their own method of searching, but none of it turned up anything at all.

That included Yubel. Other than the unyielding _knowledge_ that Juudai was there, they had nothing else to go on.

They circled carefully, staring downward, looking for anything that was out of place enough to catch attention. The guards and some of the mages were searching outbound traffic, on the chance that the prince could be held in a carriage or wagon of some sort. Some of the other mages worked their spells to search him out, but as far as Yubel knew, they were as empty-handed as the others.

Which, the king and queen agreed, meant that whoever committed the deed did something to shield their presence from magic. What that could mean Yubel wasn't certain of, only that she'd heard them whisper about something called _the Light_.

The only Light Yubel knew of was the Healing Light that stood in contrast to the Gentle Darkness. There were a few shrines to that erected here and there but in Kuragari, Darkness was the central focus.

Something about that caught at their attention, and Yubel tilted on the wind, soaring towards the temple. They knew that priests and priestesses of the Darkness had also been called in, and chance words fallen said that they might have a better chance of finding him.

But Yubel remained focused on locating Juudai without their help. The King and Queen assured them that Juudai would be found and they had no problem with Yubel aiding in the search. They'd even allowed them a room – not a big one but Yubel didn't need one – and promised regular meals.

Yubel wasn't sure if this would last beyond Juudai's rescue but they would enjoy it while they could. It would have been better if Juudai were there in the first place, but they accepted what they could.

The moment they set foot on the temple grounds, Yubel shivered. They'd never been there before but one single word thrummed through them.

 _Home._

Yubel caught their breath, then moved on inside, seeking the black marble altar. There were no candles or other sources of light and the farther they came from the door, the darker it was.

Only Yubel could still see. They'd never been able to see in the dark before, but moving toward the altar was as easy as breathing, with no fear to encounter anything to trip over.

Yubel slowly knelt, wings spread wide in respect, and tried to find words for all the fears whispering inside of them.

"Help him," Yubel murmured at last. "Help me find him. Don't let whoever has him take him away."

Yubel couldn't help the quivering fear that it had already happened, that whoever had taken Juudai either swiftly disposed of him – killed him – or took him out of the city. All the carts and wagons and anything else that could carry a person had been searched anyway. But magic was involved and magic always changed the rules.

A long, deep swallow as Yubel searched for words again. "Where is he? Is he all right?"

Yubel didn't know what might answer the questions. The Gentle Darkness took human form once every few generations, it was said, but there was still a part of it that existed elsewhere.

Sometimes Yubel wished they knew more about this sort of thing. It might help.

In the space of a heartbeat, all the light vanished. There hadn't been much of it, but it was gone regardless. Yubel stood in a center of shadows, with no hint of floor beneath.

They weren't afraid. They were home still.

 **Seek that which is and should not be. Seek with your heart, for the one who is yours. Seek quickly and find soon, for if he is taken where they wish him to go, then he will be no more.**

Yubel blinked and when their eyes opened again, they lay on the floor, wings spread limply, trying to breathe and quivering all over. Those words echoed in their mind and ears and it was all they could do to keep breathing.

One certainty rang true: Juudai was still in the city. And that meant Yubel could find him.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Yubel isn't going to be a happy person when they find Juudai. And they will find Juudai.


	10. Chapter 10

**Word Count:** 24,666/32,011|| **Chapters:** 10/13

* * *

Siren moved through the streets of the city, casting about for any hint of wind-based magic. There weren't so many users of that kind that she would be distracted by people who weren't Juudai. There were a few others, but none of those could help with this search. They didn't know Juudai's magical signature.

 _It would help if I knew it better,_ she thought. She'd not taught him for all that long, so being able to track him at all remained something of a hit or miss affair.

She paused at a corner, glancing from right to left. Even the Flighted walked on occasion, for any number of reasons, and there were several around here on unknown errands.

None of them looked like who they'd seen from Yubel's memories. Though in truth, Siren didn't expect them to see that person regardless. Anyone wise enough to slip through security the way they clearly had would be wise enough to use magic of some kind to disguise themselves.

Once they were caught it would be easier to reveal the truth, but catching them remained the difficult part.

She crossed the street, still looking for any sign. Part of her couldn't quite stop blaming herself for the situation.

 _I was there. I should have noticed something about that food._

She'd figured there was something off about Yubel, though it wasn't anything especially _bad_. If she'd checked the food instead, if she'd had Juudai come with her instead…

King Aodh and Queen Kaien didn't blame her. They'd only come along when she'd asked because they trusted her. And now everyone concentrated on finding Prince Juudai instead of pointing fingers.

That surprised her far more than she'd imagined it would. Perhaps they would start to throw blame around after their son was found. But that still remained undone.

The more she cast around the city, though, the more she wondered if they were even searching in a useful way. It didn't feel right. She wouldn't go so far as to say her magical senses told her anything – wind wasn't that type of magic – but the more she looked, the more something just didn't feel right about all of this.

 _They believe that this is the work of the Light._ She wasn't going to say that it wasn't. She'd learned enough to know that it was absolutely possible. The Light of Ruin targeted Juudai; it always had and always would. All they could do was their best to protect him.

What it wanted to do Siren couldn't guess. Destroy him came to mind, though she didn't want it to. There were other options – from what the king and queen told her, destroying Juudai wasn't all that easy. But no one knew everything that the Light did or what it might try.

A movement caught her attention: a flicker of a shimmering blue wing. Siren knew very few with wings of that sort and wasn't surprised to see Yubel, almost stumbling down the road from the grand temple to the Gentle Darkness.

 _What were they doing there?_ Siren wasn't a very religious or spiritual person and she'd never before seen someone who looked as thoroughly transfigured as Yubel did right now. Eyes wide and stunned, their wings shifting back and forth but without preparing for flight, hands clutching and releasing, breath coming in and out, faster and faster.

"Yubel?" Siren stepped closer to them, worry in her voice. She didn't know Yubel very well, but what she'd heard spoke of a boundless devotion to someone that they'd never met before.

Queen Kaien and King Aodh didn't seem bothered by it, though, so she would follow their lead.

Yubel raised their head, staring a little at them. Though they blinked, Siren wondered if they even really saw anything at all.

"Are you all right? Did something happen?" As odd as it might be, Siren wondered if they'd somehow been affected by enchantment of some kind.

No, not enchantment. The closer that Siren moved to Yubel, the more something else pinged her mage-senses. It wasn't something she'd detected all that often, save on two occasions: the times she'd been far nearer to the temple of the Gentle Darkness and the times she'd been around Juudai.

Yubel swallowed, blinked, more focus coming into their eyes. "I… I heard the Darkness."

Well. That explained it. Not everything – Siren wasn't sure if she could even handle everything – but she could understand a little more now.

"Do you know where Juudai is?"

Exactly what the link was between Juudai as he was now and the power that he embodied, Siren wasn't even close to being certain. She wasn't sure if anyone knew anything, really. Just that Juudai held that power and the Light of Ruin wanted to destroy it forever.

Unfortunately, Yubel shook their head, starting to straighten up at the same time. Their eyes focused on Siren as they did.

"I'm supposed to look for something that is and shouldn't be. But I don't know what that is."

Siren wasn't certain of what that meant either. As far as she could tell, what was and shouldn't have been was the prince being kidnapped in the first place. But how to look for it? No clue.

"Can you remember anything else?" She didn't expect Yubel to answer in the affirmative. They'd already gone through everything Yubel could remember about what happened. They'd been too boggled by being in the palace and the chance to meet the prince to really think of anything else.

Yubel started to open their mouth, then closed it again, frowning. Their eyes focused on something else: on Siren herself, in fact.

"You look strange," Yubel said, the words falling out quietly, as if they'd never noticed whatever sparked them before. "You have green magic."

Siren nodded, head tilted. "I'm an air mage. I've been teaching Prince Juudai."

She thought she'd mentioned that to Yubel, or that the king or queen had. After everything that was going on, it was hard to be certain.

Yubel didn't take their eyes off of Siren. If anything, their gaze sharpened.

"Juudai should have green magic around him, then. Shouldn't he?"

Siren nodded, not certain of where this was going. "He'd also have darkness magic. But I've searched and I haven't found any signs of both of them in the city."

"What color is darkness?"

That brought Siren to a complete stop. "Excuse me?"

Yubel stared at them, wings brushing back and forth, as if Yubel only needed another moment to leap back into the skies. "What color is the magic of darkness?"

Siren started to open her own mouth, but nothing came out as what she heard truly sank in. It took her another moment or two to ask what she needed to.

"You can see magic?"

Those who could see magic were few and far between. Even those who worked with it didn't _see_ , not like those did. For them, for her, it was an awareness, a sense in the back of her mind. As Juudai grew stronger in air magic, she could taste it around him, a sense of the wind that wasn't the wind.

One difference between those who used magic and those who didn't remained that those of magic couldn't always explain what magic _was_ to those who didn't. Some words didn't exist.

Yubel nodded, as if it were the most ordinary answer in the world. "I said, your magic is green."

So they had. And it hadn't actually registered with Siren at that point. She considered carefully.

"I don't know," she said at last. "I don't see magic like you do."

But that could be more of a hint or a help than they had right now. She reached to touch Yubel's hand carefully.

"What color magic did you see at the temple?" That would be the color of darkness: the color of Juudai's magic.

Yubel glanced over their shoulder and wings, biting their lip, before looking back at Siren.

"I can't tell. It's… dark. Absolute dark there."

"That's probably it then." She wasn't surprised Yubel didn't have the words. It would probably would have surprised her more if Yubel had. The study of magic, even for those who could see it – if not especially them – could take a lifetime, and Yubel hadn't had that lifetime.

Siren made a note to try and find someone who could teach them, once all of this was over. There was so much that would need to be done then.

Yubel breathed in and shook their head, as if trying to brush off all the internal fuzz. "Then I'll look for the darkness."

"Look for darkness and green both," Siren reminded them. "He's studied enough of my magic to have picked up the color."

Yubel nodded, the tiniest of smiles flickering across their lips. "I know. I couldn't see the darkness when I was with him, but I saw the green." They hesitated. "Should we tell his parents?" Reluctance flavored every word.

"Let's not give them false hope," Siren suggested. She considered briefly. "Perhaps we can search together?"

That didn't get a quick answer either. But Yubel did nod at last. "You can fly, can't you?" Their gaze moved over Siren's wings.

"Of course. I just need a little help." Siren concentrated for a few seconds, murmuring the spell under their breath. Wind spun around, lifting them upward, wings spreading to catch it.

It wasn't easy for her to fly without the magic, though it could happen. Siren preferred not to try, not with how painful it could be. Even now, her wings ached from the few moments of exertion.

But she would deal with it, for the sake of finding the prince.

Yubel leaped to the air as well, wings cupping the wind, then spreading wide, circling around until they rose high over the city. Their gaze shifted here and there, expression becoming more and more worried with each passing second.

They said nothing and Siren wasn't sure if she should say anything herself. From up here she could see some of the small search parties spreading out, doing a house by house search for the missing prince. Word spread out as they did, and with it a rising sense of unease. No one would truly rest until Prince Juudai returned home safely and those who'd taken him brought to justice.

Yubel turned slowly in a circle, moving with great sweeps of their wings, and Siren worked to keep up. She didn't want to interrupt Yubel's searching but the urge to ask questions burned on her lips.

She ran over what they knew one more time, just to see if anything cropped up as odd this time. It hadn't before, but she tried regardless.

 _There have been visitors, but they all were to people who already lived in the palace, or worked there. And everyone who lives and works there has done so for years, after being investigated by every means possible._

She knew they'd investigated her as well, or she knew that now. There were still those who had questionable pasts, but there were those whose tasks were to ensure that those pasts didn't interfere with their current positions or the safety of the royal family or the kingdom.

It was possible that someone who'd been there all this time had done so for the sole purpose of setting this up, living there in absolute innocence until the proper time. Siren suspected some of the mages such as Holy Elf were dealing with that even now.

How could someone have escaped with a sleeping prince and not been seen by _anyone_? Magic of some kind would be involved; that was a given. But what sort of magic?

 _The wards around the palace should prevent that._ As far as she knew they would. She glanced at Yubel, a sudden thought sparking. "Yubel," she murmured, "can you see a place where they would have been able to escape around the palace?"

Yubel turned toward that way at once, staring intently. "There aren't that many gaps in the wards," they said, fidgeting. "And the ones that were are being patched."

Siren straightened up. "So whoever did this might still be there." It was a slim chance, but it was a chance.

Yubel started to nod, then shot forward, great wings taking great beats, and Siren followed as quickly as possible.

"I can see better if I'm closer!" Yubel declared as they soared over the city. "But I saw something!"

"What?" Siren's heart leaped up her throat in an equal mix of fear and sick anticipation. If they did the wrong thing, made the wrong move, or were just too late in general, what could happen to Juudai didn't bear thinking of.

"I don't know. It's like a whirlpool of colors. A lot of colors." Yubel stared at the palace, chewing on their lip, wings flicking faintly back and forth as they hovered in place. Hovering wasn't something everyone with wings like theirs could do, but Siren suspected negligible things such as the laws of nature didn't apply right now.

"Where is it?" Siren would have raced for the king and queen right away. This lead grew larger by the moment. It had already been close to a day and a night, and Siren knew the more time that passed, the more likely it would be that something very unpleasant would happen to Juudai.

"There." Yubel pointed to one of the older areas of the palace. Siren wasn't certain if anyone had bothered searching there since this began, since no one lived there and most of it had been walled off from the rest. It looked more than old; it looked ancient, as if no one had touched the area in longer than she could imagine. They probably hadn't.

A sudden snarl leaped forth from Yubel's lips and they rose up even higher, each wingbeat like the crack of doom.

"I saw," Yubel hissed, "I saw the darkness and the green. And then it was gone. Someone ripped it away, like it hadn't ever been there at all."

Siren started to ask a question, wanting more details. But the words died before they could be spoken, as Yubel spread their wings wide and dived downward, moving too swiftly for Siren to properly follow, leaving her to stare in shock for a few moments before she spun and headed to where the nearest batch of soldiers would be. They could inform the king and queen later, if this was a true rescue and not a false alarm.

And if it was a false alarm, Siren did not dare to imagine what Yubel would do after that.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Three chapters to go! To the rescue?


	11. Chapter 11

**Word Count:** 27,116/32,011|| **Chapters:** 11/13

* * *

Juudai wasn't sure anymore of how long he'd been here. Whenever he stayed awake too long, one of the two people keeping him here administered that same drink and he drifted off to sleep.

What he knew was that he didn't want to stay here anymore. He wanted to stay awake long enough to find a way to let someone know that he was there and come get him out.

He'd been blessed, somehow, though. The two of them weren't there and he was awake. He stayed as quiet as he could, staring at the walls, where the things that were sort of very small windows were. Either windows or just broken off pieces in the walls, he didn't know which.

But they were the only link that he had to the outside world and he had to do _something_.

Juudai leaned his head back on the couch and groaned. The longer he wore that collar, the worse he felt, his energy draining out of him any time he got more than a little stored up.

He'd made up his mind on several important points. He wasn't going to go wherever it was Zahir wanted him to go. He wasn't going to do anything that any of them wanted him to do. He would find a way to escape, sooner or later, even if it wasn't _now_. And then he would find a way to take them to his parents and his parents would take care of them in all the ways that Juudai himself couldn't right now.

He also decided that whatever else happened, he would find Yubel again. Yubel had eaten the same food that he had, so they'd probably fallen asleep too. But were they all right? Had Zahir done something to them and just not told him? Or maybe the guards accused Yubel of doing something to Juudai and Yubel was all locked up now?

That last thought worried him more than the others did. If he'd been there, he could have told them that Yubel would never do anything to hurt him. That Yubel was as important to him as the air itself and would stay with him forever and ever.

But since he wasn't, he didn't know if Yubel could make it plain that they wouldn't do anything to him, now or ever, or if the guards would even listen. His guards were good people, devoted to him in every kind of way, and they would be furious about this.

And if being that angry meant that Yubel ended up hurt…

Juudai refused to think about that at all.

He stared at the gaps again, his gaze slowly shifting around the room. He could see where there had been larger windows once, but which were bricked up now. The doors that had once led in here were gone too, either cracked and broken beyond repair or destroyed and filled in. Tiny holes were all that remained.

Juudai breathed in. Breathed out. Remembered some of the exercises Teacher Siren taught him. It seemed like much longer ago than it really had been. He stared harder, dragging every single speck of energy from inside of himself that he could manage. The more he tried, the harder it was to do anything, but he kept on regardless.

The collar didn't like that. Juudai could feel that, the way that it started to heat up. It had done that a time or two before. He even could see something on it shining a little, if he tilted his head the right way. The more it shone, the more tired he felt.

Every other time before, he'd let himself sleep, or just stopped trying. He hadn't had much of a choice, not when the other two guys had been there. They wouldn't let him do much of anything.

But now they weren't there and he knew they'd come back soon and they would all _leave_ soon and Juudai refused to leave his home, especially not with these two guys or anyone they wanted to call friends.

Whatever the glowing things were, he could feel his energy stirring weakly in response. He wasn't as strong as he needed to be, but he still had to do something, no matter what.

The collar blocked both types of his magic, the darkness and the wind. He'd tried each of them in turn and nothing seemed to work out right. But now a new, small idea flickered into life, and he threw everything he had into it.

If the collar blocked off one type of magic, then he would blend them both and see if that did anything. He would keep trying until he found something that would work.

He strained himself to the edge, trying to force the feelings of darkness and wind together. He didn't even know if it could be done. He'd never even brought up such a thing to Teacher Siren. She'd never mentioned anything about his powers of darkness, though he knew that she knew he had them.

Slowly a wind began to stir. Juudai fought down the sense of pleasure. He needed to focus, to make it really _work_ , to send a message out to someone, and if he were too happy, he wouldn't be able to.

Something prickled on the back of his neck: the sensation of magic that he'd been near before. That could mean only one thing right now: Zahir and Aibek were returning.

Juudai snarled to himself before he slammed the darkness and the wind into each other, dragging out all the tiny shadows in this place and shoving them into the wispy winds he'd conjured up. Winds of shadow spun all around, picking up all the little pieces of trash and small splinters of wood and stone and whirling them around him.

There wasn't much time. As hard as he had to focus to overcome the effect of the collar, he didn't dare spare a single thought for anything else. Even if he did, he could already feel his strength fading. He had to be quick.

He could hear voices. Aibek. Zahir. He snarled again and shoved with all of his strength, aiming to send the wind and shadows out through one of the tiny holes.

A hand landed on his shoulder, attempting to get his attention. He could hear an angry voice now, two voices, both far too close to him. He wrenched himself away from the touch, not caring that the ropes still kept him restrained. He slipped off the couch, his grip on the magic loosening for a few seconds.

A few precious, vital seconds.

Under most circumstances, that would have dissipated the magic and he would have been in exactly the same situation as before, tied and gagged and barely able to do anything for himself. He was already hungry; they'd given him only a little food since he'd first woken up and it wasn't food he'd enjoyed anyway.

But his grip didn't loosen all the way, and he clamped down harder, hissing as best he could behind the gag. There the gaps were above him and he _shoved_ as hard as he could, forcing the magic outward. Someone had to be there who would know it, who would see it and realize that it was him.

It didn't quite make it. He could feel how close it came, but it didn't make it, and before he could try again…

A hard kick landed in his side, sending him rolling over, and a second hit buried itself in his stomach, forcing him to release the magic as he lost all of his breath. He spun over, straining automatically at the bonds as he did. He was _Haou_ , incarnate power of darkness, how _dare_ someone bind him like this!

When his vision cleared, both of his kidnappers stood over him. Zahir steamed, glaring at him as if Juudai's escape attempt was a personal offense.

The part of Juudai that seethed in unholy rage determined that it probably was. And he was more than happy to continue offending.

That part of him could also feel something – someone – drawing closer and he did not stop himself from smiling.

"What do you think you have to be happy about?" Zahir growled, reaching down for him. Juudai twisted to one side and kicked forward with his feet, hitting the other's legs. The grasping hand turned into a quick smack. "And what do you think that you're doing?"

Juudai would have answered if he could have. Instead, he thrust his legs out again, kicking harder this time, ignoring Zahir's grip on his shirt and how he was pulled up.

"I told you this once: you need to behave yourself. You won't like what happens if you don't."

Juudai seriously doubted that he would like what was going to happen even if he _did_ behave himself. This time he did something else with his feet: brought them as hard as he could against Zahir's crotch.

The assassin's eyes crossed briefly and his grip loosened. Juudai wondered if he'd never thought someone would hit him like that, since he clearly wasn't defended against it. He wriggled harder, squirming away, but just enough to land with a thud on the floor.

The presence drew closer. Juudai had to keep them occupied until it – until _they_ \- arrived.

Ever since he'd been kidnapped, they'd kept him quiet with that sleeping potion. If he gave them the chance they would pour it down his throat again and then all of this would be over. They would take him out of here, to where no one he cared about could find him again, and if the Light was involved at all, then…

Then Juudai knew, in deep parts of himself that he seldom spent much time thinking about but which stirred now, desiring acknowledgment, that he would be in a nightmare's worth of trouble.

All right, then. That part of himself stirred and presented a point: he needed to get the gag off. The ropes and collar were a given; he would get rid of them as fast as he could but the gag would come first.

All of that passed through his mind in the space of a heartbeat. Zahir recovered from the strike and started towards him again, cool rage in his expression. Aibek stepped with him, his expression a bit calmer, but worried, and he kept looking around as if expecting guards to burst in any second.

Guards weren't who they had to worry about.

Juudai couldn't move all that well and that ice-cold, flame-hot part of him that spoke with eons of experience that he could only barely touch upon in this place and time and body suggested that the two of them were taking their sweet time approaching, letting him think that he stood a chance.

They were wrong. He did have a chance, no matter how slim of one that it might be.

He steeled himself, rolling to one side, away from the grasping hands. Zahir laughed, a contemptuous, mocking sound.

"Do you really think you can escape, little prince? There are no doors out of here and only my spell can open a gate. And I won't cast it for you, not until it's time for _us_ to leave."

He chuckled again. "Perhaps we should just let him roll around here until it's time. He could use the exercise, I'm certain."

"Zahir," Aibek murmured, almost too low for Juudai to hear him. "That's not a good idea."

If Juudai wasn't already certain that someone was coming then he would have rejoiced at that. If it wasn't a good idea, then it had to mean that help was on the way.

He crashed up against the sofa. One thing that was correct: he couldn't get out of here like this. All he could do was hopefully keep himself out of their hands until that rescue happened. But he wanted that gag off.

That strange deep part of him also murmured that he could escape on his own, if it were darker. If there were shadows. _Darkness_.

He'd known for as long as he could remember that he held the power of the Gentle Darkness. He couldn't use it very well – the little things he'd managed to do today were some of the best that he'd ever done. But it was there all the same.

He laid his head against the couch briefly, then started to rub against it, trying his hardest to get the gag off. It was impossible to hide what he was doing, and both of them laughed when they saw it.

"Go ahead. What's it going to do if you get it off?" Zahir taunted. "There's nothing that you can do, little prince."

The more that Juudai heard that the more it infuriated him. The gag loosened the harder he rubbed, until finally it dropped down. He gasped in a lungful of air and glared at them.

"Don't call me that. I'm not a _prince_." He was and he wasn't, but when it came to his enemies, he alone chose what he was called. The rage of his sleeping power stirred, still not enough to do what he knew could be done, but enough to make the two nervous.

"Then what are you, little prince?" Zahir asked, lips twisted in mockery.

Juudai used the couch to pull himself to his feet, leaning on it to make sure that he didn't fall over. The collar wasn't as tight, he realized. He'd loosened it while trying to get the gag off, maybe. Good enough so that he could use a little more of his power.

One taste of darkness. One taste of wind. Melding into one another and shooting towards the gaps, reaching out beyond. Not as much as he would have wanted if he'd had full access to everything, but enough. Enough so that Zahir tackled him and he slammed against the far wall and managed to grin regardless at his captor, who glared down at him with building rage.

"I'm the Haou."

And no sooner did he speak the words than the walls shattered, masonry raining down, and he wasn't ashamed to use Zahir's body to shield himself from the debris, even as the two kidnappers swore and tried to avoid being hurt. They didn't do a very good job of it, but Juudai found himself far beyond caring.

In the center of the room there stood a new form now, wings spread wide, eyes burning with rage, and one hand reaching for Juudai. He smiled at the sight, more wonderful than anything he'd seen before.

"Good to see you, Yubel."

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** And just two chapters to go!


	12. Chapter 12

**Word Count:** 29,563/32,011|| **Chapters:** 12/13

* * *

Debris and trash hung in the air still, a few lingering remnants of Juudai's desperate call for help. Yubel looked through it all, seething more with every moment, until they found what they searched for.

"Juudai," they murmured, stepping toward him. Only Juudai mattered. He was there. He was alive. And now, with their arrival, he was _safe_.

Two other shapes moved through the musty air. Yubel recognized one as the man who'd deceived them in the first place. The other one wasn't familiar at all, but Yubel didn't care. They knew who these two were: the ones who'd taken Juudai in the first place.

Yubel seldom wished harm on others, preferring just to leave them be. Very few mattered to them. But in this case, they were far more than willing to make an exception.

"I'm so glad that you're here!" The deceptive one started, one hand hovering toward Juudai and the other raised as if in defense. "The kidnappers just left through a magical portal."

Yubel smiled. Of those who saw that smile, only Juudai would have said that he enjoyed it.

"More lies?"

It was all that they needed to say. The liar stared at Yubel, realization dawning just before he started to back towards Juudai again.

"If you -"

Whatever he intended to say, Yubel had no interest in. They weren't as tall or strong as an adult might be, but it didn't matter. Yubel spun, wings extended, and winced for a moment as pain shot all through them, both from the strain of having broken in here and hitting him in the first place.

Pain was nothing. Not when Juudai was involved.

The abductor stumbled back, one of his own wings caught now on the couch, and he hissed in pain. Yubel hadn't even begun to dish out what they felt he deserved.

The other one moved closer to his companion. "Can you get us out of here?" His attention flicked back and forth between his friend and Yubel and it was quite clear that he feared Yubel right now.

He should. Yubel would not rest until vengeance had been executed for their crimes.

Yubel wished for a moment they had claws, strong claws to tear and rip at this foul creature until there wasn't anything left of them. They wished they were taller and stronger, strong enough to really _hurt_ them instead of just barely being able to knock them around a little.

 _They can get away!_ The knowledge shrieked all through Yubel. Never before had the thought of someone just leaving sparked rage such as this. They took another step closer, grinding teeth together. There would be no escape. Yubel didn't know how this could be done, but it _had_ to be done.

The deceiver focused. Yubel knew little of magic, but they knew this much: interrupting a mage's spell could be done.

Juudai seemed to know it as well. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments and then they surged toward the kidnapper in unison. Juudai couldn't move as well as Yubel, so he rolled, slamming himself into the man's legs, while Yubel cracked their wings across his face. He fell backwards, one wing caught under himself now, and clawed at the air before his feet fell from underneath him.

"Zahir!" The second one reached out, but before he could do anything, the sound of feet landing filled the air. Yubel didn't take their eyes off of either kidnapper, or off of Juudai.

But Juudai did. His eyes lit up with joy as he tried to get to his feet. The ropes binding him didn't allow that very well, unfortunately. Juudai's grin remained blinding.

"Mother! Father!"

Yubel's gaze flicked away for the briefest of moments at that. Behind them all stood the king and queen, with a small contingent of guards, some Flighted, some Flightless. One of them was the fire mage-warrior that had stood guard outside of Juudai's room, and the moment she saw Juudai, her worried features eased.

She also moved forward quickly, resting one hand on the bonds holding Juudai. "Let me take care of that, my prince."

Fire flared up and the ropes ignited, crumbling away and falling into dust. She started to reach for the collar, fire still tingling on her fingertips, until the queen spoke.

"Don't destroy that. It binds magic. We can use it to hold this one until we can get him to the dungeons."

Yubel didn't know the queen very well, but they recognized restrained rage in every word. Yubel wasn't certain if they could have held their own back any more themselves.

The two kidnappers tried to take steps back, but they got no more than one or two before the guards circled them, and the binding collar was brought over there.

"Put that on him," the king ordered, gesturing abruptly. "And see to it they're both taken away. We'll deal with them later."

Yubel had heard far more than their fair share of foul language, regardless of their age. But these two sputtered out far more as they were carried off. As soon as they were out of sight, Juudai threw himself at his parents, arms wrapping around them, their wings wrapping around him in return.

Siren wasn't that far away, eyes politely turned aside. Yubel glanced at her, curious. They understood that Siren followed after when they'd plunged through in search of Juudai, which was probably how the rest of the rescue party arrived. But after the experience in the temple, Yubel still wasn't processing everything that wasn't Juudai and his safety perfectly.

"You'll need care," Siren said, moving closer to them. "You've hurt yourself."

Yubel glanced at their wings, blinking. Pain still shivered through them, but they hadn't paid a great deal of attention to it. It just hadn't mattered until now. The wings still worked. That was what mattered, wasn't it?

"I'm fine," they dismissed it, a cold grip of reality starting to flicker in. No matter how kind Their Majesties had been before, now that Juudai was returned to them, what reason would they have to let Yubel stay around?

A gentle hand brushed against their own. Yubel glanced toward it and stared to see Juudai looking back at them. He tugged until Yubel moved with him, urging them back to where his parents stood.

"Mother, Father, this is Yubel." Juudai kept hold of Yubel's hand. "I want them to stay with me. And they want to stay, too." He looked back at Yubel. "You do, don't you?"

Yubel could feel an odd flush creeping up their cheeks now. They nodded, not quite meeting anyone's eyes. A thousand emotions battled within, not one of them lasting long enough for Yubel to properly identify them.

"I would if I could," they said at last, when they thought words were said. "But..."

Juudai shook his head fiercely. "There's not any buts! I want you to stay and you want to stay so you can stay!" He jerked around to stare at his parents. "Right!?"

King Aodh and Queen Kaien exchanged a glance so brief that if Yubel hadn't been watching, they might not have realized it happened in the first place.

"Do you know why you want Yubel to stay?" Queen Kaien asked. Juudai's face rippled with confusion.

"Because Yubel's supposed to." Juudai rubbed the back of his head. "I...what else is there? We have to stay together."

Yubel tightened their grip on Juudai's wrist for a moment, heart thumping. "He's right. I think..." They thought it had something to do with the Gentle Darkness. From the moment they'd stepped out of the temple, nothing had truly been the same. Yubel wanted to go back there, with Juudai, and find out what they could.

Again that quick meeting of eyes. Queen Kaien nodded carefully. "Very well. What we know of Yubel we like, and we'd like to get to know you better, Yubel. I think we can trust you."

Yubel could only hope that was true. They promised to themselves they would do everything possible to ensure that it was.

"All right! I've got another room in my room!" Juudai declared a breath after Kaien's words. "You can stay there! And we can eat together and do lessons together!" He twisted his face up for a moment. "You're not going to let me fly with Yubel, are you?"

King Aodh chuckled as he scooped Juudai up into his arms. "Not yet. They're a little small for that right now. But when you're both older, if they're strong enough, then you can."

Yubel shivered at the thought of flying with Juudai. Before they could express another thought, Juudai wiggled around, reaching for Yubel again.

"But you're hurt now, Yubel!" He tried to lean forward. "Heather can help you!"

When they'd arrived, Juudai had been… different. The darkness pulsed strong inside of him, deeper and more intense than Yubel had ever seen before, with very little of the green wind there. But now the darkness slid backwards, leaving only a little of the green and more of just a boy there.

But he was still Juudai and always would be. Yubel reached out to touch his hand. Touching Juudai satisfied something deep within that they had no words for.

"It's not that bad," they murmured. "And it was for you."

Juudai tilted his head to stare up at his parents. "Did you see what happened? Yubel broke through the wall!"

"We didn't see it happen, but I can tell that it did," Kaien said, gesturing to the large opening Yubel created when they crashed in. "That's impressive."

Yubel shrugged, glancing away. "Not so much. I don't think the wall was very well built."

"It was, once upon a time," one of the guards said, gaze resting on Yubel. "This was part of the old palace that was sealed off about forty years ago. It hasn't been repaired since then. I don't know if I would have tried breaking through it myself."

Yubel shrugged again. "Juudai was here." Was there another reason to try? Was there any _better_ reason?

King Aodh coughed ever so politely. "We can debate that later. Let's go."

One by one, those who could fly leaped into the air, some of the Flighted guards taking the Flightless in their arms. Yubel fought to stay close to Juudai, but with every passing moment it was harder and harder to fly and their wings ached and throbbed, as did their arms and legs. Their stomach roared and rumbled with hunger. How long had it been since they ate? That was in the realm of things that Yubel couldn't quite remember anymore.

Then the group landed in one of the inner courtyards of the palace and Yubel managed to stay on their feet for only a few moments. Then all of their energy ebbed out of them and they collapsed to their knees.

"Yubel!" Juudai crouched next to Yubel a heartbeat later, hands on their arms. "I said you were hurt!"

Yubel dragged their head up, finding a smile somewhere. It didn't fit very well, but they tried it on regardless. "I'm all right," they murmured, even knowing it wasn't true.

Apparently they weren't the only one who knew it wasn't true. Sharp voices called for assistance and shortly after Juudai helped them get to a very comfortable cushioned bench, someone else sat down next to them.

Yubel managed to open their eyes long enough to recognize the healer that they'd encountered before: Heather. Their eyes closed again as the healer started to work her magic, far more inclined to rest now that they knew Juudai was safe.

Somewhere, that rest turned into sleep, and Yubel did not fight it.

* * *

Juudai hovered over Yubel, holding their hand, refusing to move any more than absolutely necessary. Yubel _saved_ him. He'd helped; he'd been able to send the flare of magic that got Yubel's attention, but Yubel was the one who broke in and that was all he cared for.

His mother rested a hand on his shoulder. "You care about Yubel very much, don't you?" She asked. Juudai looked up, more than a little confused.

"Sure. Why shouldn't I?" Yubel was as much a part of him as his hair or his eyes or his skin. Just because he hadn't _met_ them until a short while ago didn't mean that wasn't true.

His mother pursed her lips together before nodding with a small smile. "I'm glad you've met them, then."

"So am I!" He turned back to Yubel and caught Heather's eyes. "They're going to be all right, aren't they?"

Heather nodded right away. "It's only some mild injuries and a bit of wing-sprain. But it should all be healed up reasonably soon."

Juudai grinned in joy. He wanted Yubel to get well as soon as possible; there was so much to show them! All over the palace and the city, so much that he had never shown to anyone and wanted to. And what could they show him? What did Yubel know that he didn't.

Another figure moved closer and he saw this one was Teacher Siren. He straightened himself a little more.

"Thank you," he told her. "Using wind magic helped me a lot."

"I'm glad." Siren nodded. "Are you feeling all right, your Highness?"

Juudai blinked even as he nodded himself. "Sure. They didn't really hurt me." At least not as much as they probably would have if he hadn't gotten his cry for help out and if Yubel hadn't been able to get to him in time.

He scratched the back of his head and looked over at his parents. "They said they were going to take me somewhere. But I don't know where." Most of what they'd said hadn't really made a lot of sense, not when he could feel the power of his Darkness rising to combat them. It made even less so now.

"We're going to find out what they had in mind," Aodh promised, his hand resting on Juudai's shoulder for a few moments. That felt every bit as warm and welcoming as it always had, and Juudai hadn't realized how much he'd missed it until he got it back. His father's hugs were treasures that he adored. "But I wouldn't worry about it now."

Juudai didn't plan on it. He wasn't one to worry much in the first place. He had so much else he would rather think about, such as settling beside Yubel and thinking about what they might want in their room and everything else that could be done to make them happy in their new home.

* * *

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** And one final chapter to go! Also, I would like to think you all can guess who the fire-themed warrior guarding Juudai is. Was. Will be.


	13. Chapter 13

**Word Count:** 32,011/32,011|| **Chapters:** 13/13

* * *

Yubel stirred and chose not to open their eyes. They never did, first thing in the morning. There was too much to drink in.

They lay in a warm bed, with equally warm blankets on top of them. If they had opened their eyes, they would have seen a merrily flickering fire burning in the fireplace on the other side of the room.

They could hear noises coming from the other side of the door to the left. It would be Juudai. With their eyes closed, they couldn't see the first streaks of sunlight touching on the far side of the room through the wide window, but they knew it was there regardless.

The door creaked a little and Yubel tensed. Five seconds. The soft tread of bare feet across the finely woven rug. Four seconds. A soft whisper of breath and a tightly held in giggle that if they hadn't _listened_ , they might not have heard at all.

Three seconds. The touch of a hand on the side of the bed, little more than a faint tugging, but there all the same.

Two seconds. That hand now coming closer, resting ever so gently on Yubel's shoulder, above where their wings emerged.

One second.

Yubel flipped around and seized Juudai's hand in their own, eyes flying open in the same breath. Juudai grinned for a heartbeat before he pouted.

"You _always_ know!"

Yubel didn't release their grip. Juudai's hands remained warm and welcoming. He'd grown so much in the last year. Yubel often had trouble remembering it had been only a year since their first encounter.

"Good morning," Yubel said instead. "Is breakfast ready?"

"Of course!" Juudai never came in to wake Yubel up until breakfast had been brought to his room. He insisted that not only did food taste better when it was shared, but it tasted better when he shared it with Yubel.

Yubel sat up, letting Juudai's hands slide out of theirs. They missed his touch, but only a little. He remained close enough for them to feel his presence regardless.

Ever since that first encounter and Juudai's rescue, Yubel knew where he was. It wasn't the kind of knowing where they could have said what his exact location was, not that. But they knew and could go there. No one who they'd asked was entirely certain if it involved whatever odd bond existed between them in the first place or if it were the result of Juudai's rescue.

Yubel didn't care. Knowing meant everything to them.

Juudai bounced back to the door that led to his room, fidgeting as he waited for Yubel to join him. Yubel reached for their morning wrap; they would take a bath after eating. Mornings tended to be slow around Juudai, but almost inevitably picked up speed later in the day, especially once lessons started.

Teaching Juudai anything wasn't easy. Teaching Juudai and Yubel together had already made every tutor Juudai had except Siren quit.

Together the two of them settled at the round table, Yubel's wings spreading out for balance. Juudai gave them a very careful look.

"Can I brush them later?"

Juudai loved to help Yubel take care of their wings. As they'd healed from what they'd had to do for his rescue, he'd helped Yubel regain their full strength, gently rubbing them once he had permission, helping to oil the feathers when molting season rolled around again, and anything else he could do that would help.

Now Yubel smiled. He didn't need to ask. But he always did.

"Of course." Wings required regular care, after all. Yubel could not help but wish they could help Juudai have his own. But he was of the Flightless and that couldn't be.

Juudai squealed and applied himself right away to his breakfast. Yubel took a little longer, preferring to take their time. Even after a year, everything spread out before them remained a shock and a pleasure. It wasn't just delicious, it remained hot and steaming, or pleasantly cool.

The new cook who'd been hired to replace the one who'd assisted in abducting Juudai turned out to be absolutely amazing at cooking all manner of dishes that Juudai loved. Their greatest specialty was fried shrimp, something Juudai insisted on having at least twice or three times a week. Yubel wasn't certain even now if they especially liked it, but having it served made Juudai happy and that meant Yubel approved.

Juudai cleaned off his plate quickly. He usually did, but this was a little fast even for him. He sprang to his feet, grinning.

"Are you ready yet?"

"Almost!" Yubel savored every bite of breakfast, as they did every meal. Those days when any meal had been more than a little difficult to come by weren't so long gone that they would not enjoy what they had now.

Juudai fidgeted, vibrating his way over to the large window and staring out of it. Sometimes he did that, but he didn't always say what was on his mind. Yubel could guess, especially when it came to the times when he stared up at the skies, and they could hear him murmuring ever so softly. The green magic of wind buzzed more excitedly around him when he did that.

He couldn't fly yet, even with all the effort he put into his magic lessons. He _tried_. He could float fairly well. But true flight, or even the closest that a Flightless could approximate to that, remained out of his reach.

For now. Teacher Siren assured both of them that if he kept his training up, there remained a very good chance that he would be able to manage it eventually. She didn't know when, but it would happen. Maybe.

Juudai flipped around the moment that Yubel finished the last bite of food and drank the last bit of their morning wine. Like all wine served at their table, it had been well watered, to the point it was impossible for anyone to get drunk off of it.

The last thing that anyone wanted would be a drunk wind mage. Let alone one who held the power of the Gentle Darkness as well.

"Ready?" Juudai held his hand out and Yubel accepted it without hesitation.

"Ready."

There were times when Yubel suspected that Juudai enjoyed tending their wings far more than Yubel did. They'd never seen anyone so happy to gently brush and groom each single feather, to help remove the ones that fell out, and help imp others back in when the time came.

Juudai also enjoyed a good hot bath, and that was where Yubel envied him more than a little. They had to watch their wings to ensure they didn't get soaked – wet wings were a hassle no matter what – and Juudai could simply jump into the hot water and soak to his heart's content.

Not that he stayed like that too long. As soon as he was clean, Juudai slipped out of the water and pattered behind Yubel, picking up the wing care gear along the way. That box had been added to his bathroom once Yubel moved into his suite with him. Yubel hadn't ever had one before. They'd taken care of their wings the rough way, wrenching around as best they could to get to any mud or loose feathers, and trying their best just not to let the wings get dirty at all.

Now Juudai insisted that they get dirty and that he could take care of the wings afterward. Yubel couldn't see a reason to deny his wishes on that.

He ran his hands first over their wings, checking for any weak spots for the feathers and for anything else that might need tending. There weren't any; after the last year, Yubel's wings and everything else to do with Yubel were in the best condition of their life.

Tending to wings took a while, especially since Juudai inspected every single feather that he possibly could, then gently brushed over Yubel's entire wingspan. Yubel closed their eyes and let out a long, happy sigh at the attention. They could hear Juudai's giggle at that but said nothing else. Hearing him happy ranked as one of the finest moments of Yubel's life.

"What else did you want to do today?" Juudai asked much later, when the last feather had been brushed and he'd put each and every one of them into their proper place. Yubel spread them carefully and took a couple of sweeps, not actually flying but just testing how everything still worked. "We have a whole lot of time until Teacher Siren's lessons."

Those didn't come until after lunch, and their new tutor hadn't been hired yet. That left them an entire morning – well, half a morning – to do whatever they pleased, within reason.

But Yubel already had something in mind. In the last year, there hadn't been time to do this, but today could very well be the day. Healing and recovering and getting moved in and settled in took up most of their time. With all of that dealt with…

"What do you think of going to the temple?" Yubel asked, turning to watch Juudai.

Juudai tilted his head in thought for a few seconds. So far as Yubel knew, he hadn't been there in the last year either. He'd never even expressed an interest in going there.

But now he nodded, a hint of the maturity that he would one day – with luck – possess gleaming in his amber-bright eyes. "All right!"

They had to inform his parents, of course. That only made sense. They didn't prevent him from leaving the palace, but in the long months since the abduction, they wanted to know where he was. Yubel certainly agreed; it was one of the reasons they remained by his side at all times.

"Be careful," King Aodh advised. "And don't get into too much trouble."

"Would I do that on purpose?" Juudai asked, a mischievous grin turning up on his lips. Yubel could not hold back the snicker at that. He might not, but as they all well knew, Juudai attracted trouble as a flame attracted a moth.

"Don't get into trouble you can't get out of," was Queen Kaien's comment. So far as Yubel cared, that was a far better bit of advice.

They didn't need a guard – or rather, no guard could have kept up with Yubel's flying, even those Flighted guards. Juudai couldn't work up the magic to fly himself but he could at least conjure enough wind to speed them on their way to the temple that much faster. In far less time than one could have imagined, the two of them stood before the arched temple entrance.

Juudai stared at it curiously. Yubel could not help but be reminded that in an odd sense of the concept, this temple had been raised in honor of Juudai himself, or the power that he wielded. The longer they stood there, the more of the magic of shadows Yubel could see around him, and the less of the magic of air.

Then without a word, he stepped inside, Yubel only a brief pace behind him.

They found their way to the central room with little effort. Yubel remembered little of their previous trip there. They'd been so worried about Juudai at the time that nothing else had mattered at all. But now, they saw how well he fit here, how every shadow reached for him. Not in any form of threatening way, but to greet and welcome him, as someone who belonged there and hadn't been there in far too long.

Some of those shadows caressed their slender fingers across Yubel as well, their touch awakening a craving that Yubel could not remember having had before. They couldn't guess at what the craving was, only that being near Juudai made it ease off.

"They like us," Juudai said, tones of awe flavoring each word. Then he frowned a little. "I… like us?"

"You're them and they're you," Yubel pointed out. "The only difference between them and you is that you have a body and they don't."

Juudai slowly shook his head, reaching towards concepts that Yubel wasn't sure either of them understood as of yet. "There are… other things. Other differences. But … this is my home too. Just like the palace."

They fell silent again until they stood before the great altar. Juudai stared at it for several silent moments before he reached out to rest one hand on it.

"Thank you," he whispered. "For sending me Yubel. It was you, wasn't it? You sent me Yubel, because you're me. And I'm you."

Yubel wasn't fully sure if they expected an answer. But one came. One came in the form of the shadows falling all around them, just as they had that day a year earlier. And the presence of the Gentle Darkness now flowed in two forms, one in Juudai and one in the shadows that stretched all around them.

 **We are one.** The words came from within and without. It wasn't a voice at all, but an awareness of what the Darkness wanted to tell them. They didn't need words to know. It came as words only because that was how they perceived it now. **Yubel is ours as you are ours. Yubel will defend and protect and guard. It is their purpose.**

Yubel couldn't argue with that. They wouldn't have even if they could. Taking care of Juudai, defending him and protecting him, it was all that they could imagine wanting out of life.

"What about me?" Juudai asked, hand slipping into Yubel's and squeezing ever so gently. "What's my purpose?"

 **You know it. You are it. You create. You help. You heal. It is what you are.**

Juudai nodded. Yubel wasn't sure how he could do all of that – the power he'd shown so far wasn't very focused or controlled unless he pushed himself to the limits – but they absolutely believed that he could. With time. With effort.

 **The Light still seeks to destroy you-us. It must not be allowed.**

Yubel drew up as far as possible, wings spreading in defense. "It'll have to go through me first."

Juudai had another question. "Why don't I have wings? Shouldn't I have wings?"

There wasn't an answer for what felt like forever. When it came, Yubel's heart warmed in memory for years to come.

 **Yubel will be your wings.**

Juudai's hand tightened on Yubel's and they returned the quiet gesture. The darkness whirled around and while it faded so they could see the rest of the world once again, it lived on in both of them.

* * *

 **The End**

 **Notes:** And that's the end of this story. There will be others set not only in this universe but in the past life era and in the modern era. I enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoyed reading it as well.


End file.
